The TenTails Keeper and the Byakugan Genius
by XoXoMaya-chanXoXo
Summary: Follow the adventures of a certain blond haired kunoichi and be amazed! She's going to become the first Kirakage in over two hundred years! Full summary inside. Neji/OC. Rated M for precautions.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Follow the adventures of a certain blond haired kunoichi and be amazed! She's going to become the first Kirakage in over two hundred years! Watch as she sprints through the path of life, dealing with hardships and battles, friends and love, to achieve her dream! Enter: Uzumaki Rukia! NejixOC

A/N: This was actually my first story as a writer. I had written this years ago, abandoned it, then pursued it again, then decided to rewrite the entire thing! This was originally on my quizilla account (mynarose88) and the way I had written it before was terrible so I didn't bother posting it here on but since I'm rewriting the story, I've decided to post it here.

I am an extreme Neji fan girl, and no, I do not hate Tenten (or Hinata for that matter) for being his unofficial canon match (seriously, they're bound to be together!). In any case, there is Tenten bashing in this and yes, she completely breaks character – BUT! It is a must!

I need some sort of witchy person who insults Rukia (main character) and is a complete fan girl and Tenten was the only one available. In any case, to avoid nasty flames, I'll tell you this, using my amazing author future-reading powers: Tenten will improve. I am going to make her improve. And I will show you her change from an immature fangirl to a mature, strong kunoichi. It will come gradually but she will change and possibly become even more lovable.

In addition to Tenten bashing, Sakura and Ino shall also be bashed up until (and again, I'm using my stupendous future reading powers (comes with being the author)) the Chuunin Exams because, let's face it: that was basically the point where they became much more likable people. So up until that point, I'm writing them as I used to see them.

I just needed to tell you all this before we got started so there is a warning beforehand to the flamers. Criticism is appreciated, flames shall be laughed at accordingly.

XoXoMaya-chanXoXo  
And secretly editing,  
XoXoMimi-chanXoXo

P.S. Advisable that you don't go to my quizilla account and read the unedited chapters as they will spoil the edited ones. Seriously, I was truly horrible back then. Now I think I've gotten better! ^-^

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~

Chapter 1: Enter Uzumaki Rukia

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Sluuuuuurp! **

_Delicious!_ You thought, rubbing your enlarged satisfied stomach from on top on your black training shirt and leaning back on the hard, somewhat uncomfortable, stool of your favorite ramen stand: Ichiraku's. Throughout your entire fifteen years of life, you had never tasted food as good as the one served at Ichiraku's. For a dizzyingly old man, he wasn't a half bad cook. Definitely better than you.

You sighed dreamily, remembering the taste of the miso ramen you had just devoured a few moments ago. Looking to your left and seeing the empty stool that should've been occupied by your best friend; you pursed your lips, wondering what to do whilst awaiting her arrival. _I know! _

"Hey old man!" You called rudely, waving your hand rapidly in the air. "Another miso over here!"

But the clever old man was already prepared as he slid a bowl of steamy hot miso ramen across the counter to you. Delighted, you used one hand to hold back your light blond bangs back and the other to shovel noodles into your wide mouth, slurping noisily.

Normally people would place their bangs behind their ears but you didn't; better phrased: you couldn't. Instead of normal ears like everyone else, one of your five senses was replaced by fox ears with smooth reddish orange fur grown only in that area. These freakish ears placed inches above the area normal ears should be located caused many civilians to glare at you with a strange knowing look in their eyes. As if they knew something you didn't, which they probably did considering all the scarring words and cruel stares.

"Rukia-chan?"

You recognized that voice immediately and, gulping a dangerous amount of noodles at once to speak, you choked out. "H-Hey, Hinata-chan…!"

The pale eyed girl looked worriedly at you before taking the seat you had gestured at her. Hinata turned slowly to look at you after ordering a miso ramen for herself. She tilted her head with concern and whispered to you. "A-are y-you okay, Rukia-chan?"

You looked reassuringly at Hinata, swallowing the last bit of noodles that had obstructed your throat. Your sapphire eyes gazed at Hinata's face, taking in every feature etched with concern.

Your best and only friend: Hyuuga Hinata. About nine years ago, when you had just turned six, you had met Hinata in beautiful flower field hidden deep within a forest on the west side of Konoha. Her eyes had frightened you at first glance but after seeing the soft sheen held within them, you had grown an attraction to her. She didn't seem to mind you; in fact, she had occasionally beckoned you over when you just stood in the background, watching her.

Hinata had told you many things about her life: her father, being the heir, the Byakugan, and much more. She also once said that she was too shy to make friends. You remembered asking then:

"_Why aren't you shy with me, then?" _

"Because you make me feel comfortable…" You muttered under your breath, reminiscing.

Hinata looked at you strangely, wondering what you had said. But you just smiled it off, flicking your wrist over your should as if to say it was nothing important.

Hinata shifted uncomfortably on the stool, not really used to such common seating's. Being a Hyuuga, and the heir at that, she more often than not received the best of the best and somehow managed to retain her humility. The young Hyuuga, positioned as comfortably as possible, looked meekly over to you, curling her small hands into loose fists in her lap. "Ano… why did you ask me to meet you here?"

"Ah!" You exclaimed, raising your dripping chopsticks into the air dramatically. "I needed to talk to you about something important! And I was hungry so I thought meeting at Ichiraku's was the best idea!"

"B-but what if Na-Naruto-kun-" _blush_ "-c-comes…?" Hinata stammered, pressing her index fingers together.

You waved it off. "Nah! He's off training somewhere."

Your one and only brother: Uzumaki Naruto. You and Naruto were often seen crisscrossing the roof tops, running away from angry Chuunin. Pranks, ramen, inability to accept defeat, and seemingly impossible dreams; this is what you had in common with Naruto. Both of you also looked very similar; big blue eyes, blond hair, orange clothing, and cold foreheads in need of a Konoha forehead protector. You and Naruto have been through many **hardships** involving the citizens of beautiful Konoha; some of which included vicious beatings and many cold words. But both you and Naruto would cast it off with a shrug and a smile. But you knew that, much like yourself, Naruto has never fully gotten over it… Many thought of you as a girl version of Naruto (since he was older than you… only by **five minute!**) but you begged to differ. You were your own person and that's how you liked it!

"He… he's very determined, isn't he…" Hinata stated dreamily, staring at her hot miso ramen with a small smile.

You rolled your eyes. "I'm just like that…" You muttered indignantly. A devilish smile plants itself on your face. "So when will you tell him you **love** him?"

Hinata waved her hands frantically in the air all the while spluttering out random objections. She only calmed down after you gave her a knowing smirk. Sighing in relief, she snapped her chopsticks and carefully lifted hot noodles dripping with soup to her mouth.

"No, seriously, when will you?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Just take a deep breath and give the trash can a little break." You gently cooed, rubbing Hinata's back soothingly.

Hinata, caught off guard by your sudden interruption of her consumption of ramen-y goodness, had choked and began throwing up all over the place. You were currently sitting on the park bench whilst Hinata continued to puke out the last of her guts… Seriously, it was like she was throwing out her organs through her mouth.

You shuddered. That was truly a gross thought…

"W-water…" Hinata gasped, clutching the edges of the rather unfortunate trash can in a death grip. Her short midnight blue hair was matted with sweat and framed her sickly pale face. She took the bottle of water you offered her with shaky hands before gulping done the contents greedily; ignoring the voice that sounded oddly like her father's which continuously reprimanded her about drinking in such a dishonorable way.

The night air blew your bangs and pig-tailed blond hair around your face as you looked over at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

Sweat dripped slowly from Hinata's brow. She shook her head tiredly and closed her eyes. "I'm fine… Rukia-chan…"

"Hinata!"

"Oh!" Hinata gasped. She had fallen asleep. Who knew barfing continuously for so long could make a person so tired?

"Go home and rest." You quietly suggested, flashing a reassuring smile when she looked at you worriedly.

"H-hai… We'll talk later…" Hinata mumbled, wiping her mouth with a napkin and hesitantly getting to her feet. She was still curious as to why you wanted to meet up with her but let that slide for now, seeing as though Hinata hardly had enough energy to walk let alone converse seriously. "Bye…"

"Hmm…" You said, absentmindedly gazing at a purple flower as it closed it petals for the night. "Bye."

Truly, you wished you could have walked Hinata home. She looked pretty bad and you were worried about her trip home. But you knew better. Hinata's father, Hyuuga Hiashi, disliked you deeply. He refused to let Hinata come near you and he even went as far as declaring that you were banned from every setting foot in the Hyuuga Compound. Because of this, you and Hinata constantly met outside the Compound.

…_teme…_ You thought, narrowing your eyes at the sleeping flower. You abruptly pushed yourself off the bench and shoving your hands into your pockets, you slouched while doing so. With a sigh and a quick glance at the flower, you made to walk home.

This whole trip out was mainly because you wanted to speak to Hinata about the strange dreams – correction: nightmares you've been experiencing every night.

A black looming figure in a strange tract of dry land would say indecipherable words.

That was your dream. Not much, but it haunted you continuously. It was the same thing every night; leaving you restless and somewhat cranky in the morning. But not only that, it seemed as though these nightmares were becoming more and more detailed as they continued. Like every night, you were drawing nearer and nearer to something unexplainably horrible. Like some key event was going to take place and you were slowly discovering it beforehand.

You shook your head. This was silly. You were behaving as though it was some kind of premonition.

"Hah!" You called out into the night. "Why would **I **get premonitions?"

You smiled bitterly and continued walking, only to pause three seconds later. "What the hell is a premonition?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_**BRRRRING! **_

_**BRRRRING! **_

_**BRRRI-! **_

You groggily pushed yourself up, rubbing your eyes and glancing at the remains of your broken alarm clock. _I'll get it fixed later…_

Mornings were never really your thing; especially with that nightmare bothering you every night. You made an elective to inform Hinata about it today during lessons. You never really liked going to the Academy for several reasons.

First: All your classmates were idiots! Seriously, half of them hated you because they thought you were an attention seeking, freak eared, loud mouthed, failure with surgically altered breasts too big for your body – you glanced at your reflection, _They're not __**that**__ big… _– and the other half only liked you because you would fool around, crack jokes, and make fun of the teacher. Second: Segregation. Boys and girls were divided and placed in separate classrooms with separate teachers and a separate curriculum with the occasional integrated lessons. While the boys learned cool Taijutsu stances and moves; the girls were brought out to a flower field to learn… flower arranging!? You were found constantly complaining about this; disobeying the teacher's orders and going off on your own usually to train by yourself. And in the end, you would fail the lesson when the practical exam – you snorted – was to be taken. It was just a waste of time! But thankfully, today was Thursday so today's lesson was mixed. You could actually learn something useful!

Third: You had to put up with the constant stupidity of others continuously picking on you. It drove you insane how they would act like they were better than you! Like they could just pick on you and get away with it! But… but every time you tried to stand up for yourself, the teacher… she would just make a snide little comment of her own and tell you to stay quiet! They… tho-

"R-Rukia…?" Naruto called softly from the doorway of your bedroom. You snapped out of your thoughts and looked over at him to see he was still clad in his penguin pajamas. You giggled, seeing his ruffled hair peek out from his lopsided penguin cap as he dozed off right there.

"Naruto…!"

"Ah!" Naruto promptly woke up, blinking a couple times before waving dumbly at you.

"What is it?" You asked, walking over to a small table and grabbing your hairbrush.

"Breakfast…" He muttered, trying his best to keep his eyes open. Mornings weren't his thing either.

"Well…" You began, focusing your eyes on your reflection in the large mirror placed above your table. You furrowed your eyebrows. "I'll just put some ramen in the microwave and we'll eat that…" You trailed off with uncertainty.

Naruto sensed this and stood up straighter. "I'll do it." He stated, exiting your room and tumbling down the stairs.

You sighed. You knew very well that Naruto hated cooking but since you practically ruined every dish you tried to prepare – including microwave types – he had no choice. A part of you felt bad making him do this. You could always try to learn from Hinata…

A sharp shout erupted from the kitchen, signaling that Naruto was finally up. You wondered whether it was the shock of the microwave as he plugged it in or the spread of tacks you had left lying around for no apparent reason.

You trudged reluctantly to the bathroom, quickly grabbing a set of clothes. You peeled off your kitty cat pajamas and stepped into the shower, grabbing your tooth brush and some toothpaste with you.

Fifteen minutes later, you were fresh and ready to go!

You cleared your throat, examining your look in the mirror whilst fixing your hair into pig-tails using two worn out rubber bands.

Your sleeveless orange jacket left open revealed a typical black figure-hugging training shirt donning your upper body. On the back of your jacket was a blue kanji reading "Water". You loved that kanji; you couldn't explain why but you felt really… attached to it.

On your arms, there were pieces of orange cloth very loose near your hands but tightened as they slid on your upper arm with a small white ribbon wound in and out like sewed thread tied neatly and securely. A pair of matching orange shorts stopping three inches above your knee with a thin black belt holding it securely on your waist; your right short leg being held down shapely against your thigh with a white bandage and your kunai holster.

You smiled at your appearance. Trying to sound the least bit shallow – which was quite hard considering your rather self-praising personality – you happily fasten your weapons pouch and skip down for breakfast, _I __**do**__ look quite excellent today!_

Upon entering the kitchen, you see Naruto's black body laid disturbingly on the kitchen floor, twitching unnervingly occasionally. You swore you saw a small flicker of blue lightening passing over his body as he twitched again.

_The microwave I guess…_ You mused, walking over to the said thought kitchen appliance and pulled out a bowl of ramen. You glanced over at Naruto before dipping your chopsticks into the bowl of ramen and pulling a single noodle. Dangling it in front of Naruto's face, his eyes suddenly popped open and he shot up, closing his mouth around the noodle in the process. You smiled at him. "Nice to see you're finally awake."

"Mmmm. Mmm mm mmmm!"

You frowned. He continued to grasp on your chopsticks with his mouth and seemed to be refusing to let go. You glare at him and wave the chopsticks around, trying to let gravity take its toll. But alas, it was in vain as Naruto continued his amazing hold on the ends of your chopsticks. Your face darkened and you lowered your bangs over your eyes. Your fox ears perked up when you heard Naruto gulping in fright.

"You want the chopsticks?" You asked rhetorically, lifting your head to face Naruto with a scary glint in your eyes. He nodded with uncertainty. "Here! Have them!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What should we do now?" You asked, sliding your foot into your blue ninja sandals. You looked over at Naruto who continued to glare at you. Rolling your eyes, you leaned against the wall and slipped your finger into your sandal, adjusting them to your comfort. "Look, you were behaving badly so I punished you accordingly."

"You shoved those chopsticks down my throat!"

"In your mouth Naruto, not your throat. There's a difference." You replied casually, unlocking the front door of your apartment.

Naruto continued glaring at you, muttering things like 'you could've killed me' under his breath as he walked out the door. You rolled your eyes again before following him outside; he was acting like a drama queen!

You quickly locked the door and pocketed the key with Naruto waiting patiently behind yo-

"Hurry up!"

- with Naruto waiting **impatiently** behind you.

"Alright, alright! Jeez…" You mumbled, shoving your hands in your pockets and following Naruto out onto the busy streets of Konoha. Like Naruto, you looked straight ahead, ignoring the glances and whispers of contempt. You shuffled along behind Naruto uncomfortably. "Uh, Naruto? What do you want to do now?"

Naruto looked around, wondering exactly what they could do before going to the Academy. His eyes stopped on the Hokage faces and grinned. You bit your lip in anticipation; you knew exactly what he was thinking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Get back here you two!" a Chuunin yelled, thumping his feet on the rooftops of different houses in his pursuit of the two hooligans who painted the Hokage's faces.

"You want us…" Naruto began, smirking and increasing his speed.

"Come and get us!" You yelled, throwing the bucket of hot pink paint in your hands towards the Chuunin. His face disappeared within the bucket as he swore loudly before swerving to the side in confusion, almost knocking down the other Chuunin chasing you. _What a loser!_

You laughed heartily, having the time of your life as you crisscrossed the rooftops with Naruto. You spotted a T-junction in the road and instinctively dashed right when you approached it. You quickly looked over your shoulder to see the disappearing figure of Naruto; he had immediately dashed left as well. You smiled mischievously and jumped on the dirt road, running as fast as you could. Glancing over your shoulder again, you noticed that no one was following you. That meant only one thing: _They must be chasing Naruto… I hope he's alright…_

With this distraction, you failed to notice someone obstructing you path until it was too late…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hyuuga Neji walked slowly on his way to the academy he had never set foot in two years. He remembered being given instructions by Gai-sensei to take this white important looking scroll Neji held loosely in his hand to Iruka-sensei before classes had commenced because interrupting classes – Neji's eye twitched in annoyance – is "unyouthful".

Neji sighed and glanced around. That small group of idiotic fan girls that kept screaming every time they saw him wasn't around. He could not have been more thankful; they annoyed him to no end with their constant screeching with hearts in their eyes and their petty declarations of love.

He snorted disdainfully. They didn't really love him, he knew that much. They were just superficial girls who would settle for chasing Uchiha Sasuke if Neji wasn't around. If they truly cared for as much as they claimed, they wouldn't ditch him every time Sasuke's chicken butt-like hair came into view. But Neji didn't care. He had no time to waste on relationships and other emotional games.

Neji sighed again out of boredom. The only good thing about delivering this scroll was that he could be away from Lee and Gai-sensei's stupidity and Tenten's constantly whining about how Neji should become nicer.

Neji snorted again for good measure.

Little did he know that there was another good thing about delivering this scroll. Because he was on the road towards the Academy, Neji got a sneak glimpse of his future love interest.

Correction: Neji got to get painfully slammed to the ground by his future love interest.

"Ow…" You moaned, placing your palms on the rather shapely chest of the person underneath you and push yourself up. Your eyes screwed shut tightly as another surge of pain hit your head. You moaned again.

"Get off of me!" A muffled voice beneath you ordered. Hands suddenly clasped around your waist and in a split second, you were pushed to the ground with an "Umpff!"

"Hey, what the-!" You stopped mid sentence, staring up at the person you knocked over.

He wore a beige short sleeved jacket and black trousers with bandages covering his right arm and leg. Dark brown, almost black, hair flowed down his back, tied by a beige hair band with a couple loose strands framing his face. His unusually pale skin and patrician features gave him a type of upper class elegant look. But what really caught your eyes… was his.

Hard pale lavender orbs stared back at you condescendingly in an unwavering gaze. A look of superiority naturally filled his eyes as he narrowed them.

"What where you're going, failure."

"E-excuse me?" You gasped out, shocked by the sudden labeling. Who was this guy? And why the hell did he just call you a failure!?

"I said: What where you're going, **failure**." He smirked contemptuously, stressing the word 'failure' as he did.

"Why you…!" You hissed, hoisting yourself off of the ground and attempting to make eye level with him. _Damn it!_ You thought, standing on the tips of your toes. Even so, you only managed to glare at his smirking mouth. A sudden desire to rip those perfectly kissable lips welled up inside of you. But just as you reached up with your twitching hands, he turned and walked away.

You growled angrily. "Get back here, coward!"

He ignored you but you could have sworn you heard him smirk.

You continued to glower at his retreating back, not noticing the looming figure behind you.

"Uzumaki Rukia!"

Your eyes flung wide open as you shakily turned to face your favorite teacher glaring at you with an over inflated head filled with anger. To the side, you could vaguely make out the disappointed and frightened figure of your twin brother shuffling with obvious discomfort.

"H-hai, Iruka-sensei?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The classroom door flung open suddenly, startling most of the students. In a matter of seconds, both your and Naruto's bodies, tied together by a strong brown rope, were thrown haphazardly inside the room.

The students sighed. More stupidity by none other than the Uzumaki Twins.

Iruka-sensei, with his head finally deflated but his eyes with angrily glaring, stomped into the classroom, waving the students a quick 'hello'.

He turned his attention back to the two frightened Academy students in front of him. "You two had better be well practiced for the Genin exams tomorrow!"

"Uh… well…" Both you and Naruto trail off with uncertainty.

Iruka-sensei sighed with exasperation. "I'm at the end of the line here! You two failed the graduation pretests **four** times already!" He stressed the number four. Furrowing his eyebrows in irritation, Iruka-sensei placed his palm on his head and rested his other hand against his hip. "Tomorrow is the actual test! Fail it and you two will be forced to repeat the entire curriculum!"

"Hn!" You and Naruto turn to stare defiantly at the walls in front of you.

Iruka-sensei made a sound of annoyance in the back of his throat. "Fine! Because **you two** miss it, **everyone** will be reviewing Henge No Jutsu!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	2. Chapter 2

Forgive me if it seems a bit rushed at the end. In any case, review as they are the medicine with which I stay alive!

XoXoMaya-chanXoXo  
And covertly stealing all your snacks,  
XoXoMimi-chanXoXo

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~

Chapter 2: Finally a Genin!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I still don't see why **I** have to do this…" You muttered very audibly for the fifth time, glancing up at Iruka-sensei through narrowed ears, your fox ears twitching erratically in annoyance.

A cool breeze blew your long bangs in front of your eyes, thwarting your attempt at glaring hard at the irritated Iruka-sensei. You rubbed your hands firmly against the cloth of your hips to wipe off the soupy water in order to part your bangs. You hated how your long bangs would always flop over your eyes, especially when you were glaring at someone. It ruined the entire intimidation process.

Not that people were usually intimidated…

… _Damn, I really need to learn how to intimidate…_

"You already know why, Rukia." Iruka-sensei called back from on top of the Third Hokage's head.

Stone head.

Currently, you and Naruto were being punished for 'misbehaving' during class by having to wash all the graffiti you both had drawn that same morning. The apparent misbehavior involved a certain jutsu Naruto had created with your help.

Sexy No Jutsu.

With the appropriate hand seals and the right figure in mind, a beautiful **naked** girl would appear right where Naruto had been standing. Of course since 'Naruto' – the show – is for young teens as well as old, thin white puffs of smoke surrounded her body in a very tantalizing way; a disappointment to many old men – and in some cases women – who have a pedophilic attraction to young half-naked women.

In any case, the smoke was thin enough to send Iruka-sensei in to a slow motion Tekken-type K.O. with a severe nose bleed. The only thing missing was the deep announcement of-

Never mind, you had done that…

"And besides," Iruka-sensei's exasperated voice added. "You helped make this mess in the first place."

You snorted and resumed your punishment, muttering under your breath.

Iruka-sensei looked from your darkly muttering form to Naruto's angry figure. A gentle pitying look enveloped his expression, softening his irritated features in to something more… fatherly.

"After you both finish, you can go home."

"What's the point of going home if there's no one to go home to!?" Naruto yelled, pausing his harsh scrubbing to glare up at Iruka-sensei.

He could see the hurt in Naruto's eyes and from his shaking hands, Iruka-sensei deduced that an empty home wasn't as relieving as he had first thought.

Iruka-sensei looked from Naruto to you; his eyes narrowed in worry.

_Naruto, you should be careful with what you say… Rukia is more sensitive than you…_

Whereas Naruto was huffing heatedly whilst continuing his harsh scrubbing, your shoulders were slumped in, what looked like defeat. Your hair fell ungracefully over your face, blocking an outside view of your eyes and your expression; your hands quivered from the coldness of your own body. Your chest silently heaved from suppressed tears as you sunk your two front teeth painfully in your lower lip; a defense mechanism to help control poignant emotions Iruka-sensei became aware of a few years back. He could see your knees shake as if they would give way any second.

Clearly, you were taking it much harder than Naruto.

"Hey…" Iruka-sensei softly said, leaning back on his hands and smiling hazily. Both you and Naruto looked up reluctantly at him. An unusual tinge of sadness blended with his kind brown eyes. Intrigued, both siblings looked curiously at him, forgetting about their reluctance. Stretching his legs casually, Iruka-sensei winked at the both of you. "After you two finish, how about I treat you guys to some ramen before dropping you home?"

A question with an obvious answer.

"That's some serious motivation!" Naruto called happily, eyes twinkling as he scrubbed with newfound energy.

"We'll have these faces cleaned up in no time!" You exclaimed happily, mirroring Naruto's twinkling and scrubbing.

Iruka-sensei lowered his left leg gently on the stone hair of the Third Hokage, placing his elbow near his knee and resting his chin on the palm of his hand with a soft smile. He loved Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Rukia like his own children.

And sometimes, it truly felt like they were…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Because I'm going to be a better Hokage than all of them combined!" Naruto answered, pointing his chopsticks at Iruka-sensei with a determined wink.

Iruka-sensei sighed, expecting this kind of answer. He slurped down a few noodles of ramen before turning to you with a raised eyebrow. "And why did you paint the Hokage's faces?"

You shrugged and smiled brightly before pouting your lips and wagging a knowing finger in front of Iruka-sensei's face. "I'm loyal to Naruto and happily oblige in helping him achieve his dreams of becoming Hokage."

Iruka-sensei smiled warmly at you.

"And it was so much fun!"

His smile dropped as his lips became occupied by another sigh.

Stifling a yawn, you gulped your ramen heartily, taking extra special care to take out the onions before doing so. The onions that came with the vegetable toppings always disgusted you. The bitter taste and the funky after smell that it left in your mouth was more than enough for you to officially declare with a hard thump on the table and a fiery look in your eyes that onions were the worst vegetable ever!

You roughly laid the empty bowl down with a satisfied sigh, a small puff of steam emitting from your mouth as you did. Unfortunately, the yawn you tried to stifle forced itself out and you received a tender look from Iruka-sensei as he coaxed you in to going to bed instead of ordering another ramen.

You shot him a suspicious look; either he was really concerned about you or he was trying to save himself from bankruptcy. But either way, you still left him and Naruto alone. You were truly tired and your fingers ached from the scrubbing you forced yourself to endure for the sake of ramen. The cleaning took most of the day but the ramen was so worth it in your eyes.

The moon shone in the cloudless sky; lighting the dark street of the alleyway you were walking in. As you gazed up at the giant pale hunk of rock in outer space, the image of the Hyuuga blurred your vision.

His long dark hair loosely tied with locks falling elegantly past his shoulders; grazing his face almost tantalizingly. His face carved with the utmost care; every contour blending and complimenting the natural beauty he was born with. And his eyes…

Those eyes… they looked so much like the moon that shone in the dark night sky: mystifying, secretive, beautiful.

Even at first glance, such indescribable mysteries were held within the pale pupil-less orbs he looked down at you with. Though the words he uttered had caught you off guard, disallowing you to dreamily take in the appealing sense of anonymity he held; the picture perfect image burned in to your memories allowed you to currently do so.

A Hyuuga. He was obviously a Hyuuga. Pupil-less eyes, trademark long dark hair, condescending air; all traits Hyuuga's are known to have.

But curiosity kept nipping at you to find out more about this Hyuuga. Something about him felt… to say the least, different.

Among the Hyuuga, there have been many who looked at you with contempt and hatred. Their icy cold glares more damaging than any others. All of them alike regarded the Uzumaki twins as the filth underneath their shoes; something that deserved no respect. And no kindness.

They treated you like a monster…

But these Hyuuga eyes… they were whiter; like a blanket of translucent ice layering them. They were whiter than any other Hyuuga you had the misfortune of coming across. The natural tinge of lavender those unique eyes held looked as though it had faded. Over time, faded away and left emptiness in its wake. Like a light dimming before completely vanishing; the lavender in his eyes paled and was slowly fading to white… No… no, not only whiter… colder… Much, much colder…

Suddenly, a jagged pebble hit your head hard with a surge of pain, snapping you out of your deep thinking. You hissed out an uneven breath, clutching the slowly forming bump on your head and turning to see a group of girls passing by. They all threw their heads back in laughter before scurrying out of sight.

_Probably to brag to their parents what a wonderful job they had done! _You thought bitterly, glaring at the spot the group had been standing. You pursed your lips and shut your eyes in pain. A thick substance pressed against the tips of your cool fingers. Blood.

You bit down on your lower lip hard. Though it was an extremely small amount of blood, it was still there as if proof that people didn't care. The tiny trickle of blood flowed down your scalp to your neck. You quickly take out a napkin from your short pocket and dab the blood away. Once satisfied, you looked at the blood smeared napkin with sullen eyes before shoving your newly formed fists in to your pockets and continuing your journey home.

How much blood would be shed until the tears finally leaked out?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You moaned as sunlight hit your face with a heated glare. You scrunch your eyes tight before allowing your senses to realize their uncomfortable surroundings.

You felt your sweaty cheek pressed against the wooden floor of your bedroom. Without much choice, you pried your eyelids apart and adjusted your pupils to the lighting. The dust bunnies under your bed became visible almost immediately, causing you to take mental note to clean it… eventually…

Your limbs felt numb; they refused to cooperate with you as you pushed yourself off of the floor before your arms gave way, tumbling you to the floor.

You moaned, feeling a migraine beginning to form. A glossy layer of sweat coated the floor, smearing your cheek when you fell back down. You shivered in disgust; the feeling of sticky sweat drying on your cheek made you want to physically vomit. Giving yourself a few minutes to regain complete control over your rebellious limbs, you once again pushed yourself off of the ground and trudged off to the washroom.

You sighed, feeling the warm water soak your back. The nightmare continuously replayed in your head as you soaped your body with shaky hands. It was the same dark figure uttering the same incoherent sentences in the same dark area.

But there was something more this time…

The usual blurred figure had taken form. Though the body itself remained blackened, the outline clearly showed the thin figure of a woman. Her long hair had made you believe it could have been that Hyuuga you bumped in to. But no; the form was too much like that of a woman. The thin waist, long legs, slim arms; it had to be a woman. But that left you reeling.

What kind of significance did this women play? What did she have to do with you?

And more importantly, why did she move like that?

Her legs were separated in a steady stance and her arm was fully outstretched as though she was about attack with some sort of technique. Her other arm was bent towards her black form; because the two colors blended undetectably, you couldn't make out what exactly she was doing with that hand. But the constant swinging of her elbow must have meant she was indeed doing something… important?

You growled, slamming your fist against the white tiled walls above the shower taps before gently pressing your forehead against the cool wall with your eyes shut tight. No matter how you looked at it, no matter how you tried to understand it, no matter how many times you broke it down and thought about it; it just didn't make any sense. This feeling of incompetency angered and frustrated you to an extent reached only when you felt truly helpless. The feeling of being weak…

You growled again, pushing yourself off the wall and forcefully pulling aside the shower curtain. You grabbed a towel, shut off the water, and grabbed your toothbrush consecutively. Your fluid movements surprised you but you thought nothing of it. When you were angry, you tended to move more swiftly, though more often than not, those movements were quite sloppy and all over the place.

Finishing your daily routine, you walked down the hall and pass a small wall calendar.

But just as you were about to descend the stairs, you zoomed back with amazing speed and stared wide eyed at the calendar.

A large circle was drawn sloppily around the 31st of March. This could only mean one thing…

"THE GENIN EXAMS ARE TODAY!"

After a chorus of happy 'the Genin Exams are today' with Naruto, who had zoomed to your side after you had exclaimed, you happily bit in to an apple before dragging Naruto out the door and onto the streets.

Of course, the streets were filled with Academy hopefuls. Some looking nervous whilst others looked confident. A few students you recognized had their heads buried in books and scrolls for last minute studying. Some others were practicing a bit of chakra control by flowing chakra to their feet to walk faster. A boy your age briskly walked by without bothering to notice you or Naruto; he seemed to be reciting some sort of hand seal sequence.

Everyone was readying themselves of the upcoming exam.

After all, becoming a Genin meant officially becoming a Konoha Shinobi.

You raced to the Academy beside Naruto, eager to finally get that hitai-ite you had been longing for throughout most of your fifteen years of life. Though there was a certain headband you wanted more than any other, you knew you couldn't have that one. It was too sacred to the village. But you tried your best to pay no mind to it. Another headband would be good enough, right…?

The classroom Iruka-sensei taught filled up immediately. No tardiness whatsoever, even from the notorious Uzumaki twins who were, in a way, famed for their impeccable lateness. And, of course, their dramatic entries.

But no, not today. Just like everyone else, the Uzumaki twins sat in their assigned seats and waited silently for the Chuunin instructor's arrival.

Thankfully the wait wasn't too long as the door slid open to reveal a happy Iruka-sensei entering the room with his usual clipboard-from-hell. No one truly knew what he constantly wrote on that clipboard. Any misbehavior and Iruka-sensei's hand would rocket across the sheets of paper attached to that board. Rumors would constantly fly around; most of them started by Naruto.

But you had an ominous feeling it was more than just stick figures of students being tortured or a list of new and completely boring assignments. You had an ominous feeling that Iruka wasn't even his real name. Iruka was just a rather cunning alias; no one would suspect that dropping the 'u' and rearranging the letters would reveal his true identity.

Too bad L didn't have enough common sense to see that. [1]

"Now," Iruka-sensei began, scribbling something down on his hellish clipboard. Leaning forward for a better view, you eyed the clipboard in his hands in an attempt to see whose name he was writing down. You hastily snapped back up straight just as Iruka-sensei turned his full attention to the excited class. Upon seeing students even shaking with excitement or nervousness, Iruka-sensei laughed. "You're all taking this way too seriously."

He smiled warmly at the confused looking students. "You see," He waved his clip board menacingly, "All you have to do is perform a simple jutsu and you'll all be Genin."

The anxiety immediately lifted and an excited murmur filled the classroom.

"That's a relief…" You muttered, placing your chin on the desk with a relieved sigh. "I thought there might have been a written exam or something!"

Hinata giggled beside you. Over the last day or so, Hinata's sickly image returned to its normal state. You remembered her telling you about the embarrassment of vomiting all over her father after he interrogated her about why she was so late. You had grinned widely; Hiashi-teme deserved that. More even! But since that was the best Hinata could do without sentencing herself to an early death, you accepted it with a mischievous smile and a hearty wink at a flustered Hinata.

The small girl pressed her fingers together with a small smile. "I'm… I'm also glad it isn't a written exam…"

"Why?" You asked curiously. Hinata was one of the smartest kids in the class. Though she didn't measure up to Nara Shikamaru's wit and logic and Haruno Sakura's brains and Genjutsu know-how, Hinata was very intelligent. She liked to read and discover knew things. She also liked to teach them to you then explain it thoroughly after you gave her a confused look.

She twiddled her fingers and blushed. "You and N-Naruto-kun are better at practical exams so it'll be… easier for both of you to pass."

You smiled and stuck out your tongue playfully at her. "Thanks!"

She smiled back.

"So now we will begin!" Iruka-sensei called out happily, double checking whatever he had written on his clipboard. "We will call the students one by one to a separate room for the examination."

You waved your hand rapidly in the air, you bum mere millimeters from your seat. "Iruka-sensei! What jutsu will we have to do?"

A few annoyed glances came your way. Your loud voice wasn't as appealing as you had assumed. But seriously, everybody was wondering!

Iruka-sensei saw the glances and intervened immediately. "Students will be performing Bunshin No Jutsu."

_B-Bunshin No Jutsu? _Your hand froze mid frantic wave. After a moment of stunned silence, you purposely slammed your head against the desk. _That's my worst jutsu!_

Hinata looked at you worriedly as you continued to slam your head against the desk, losing precious brain cells in the process. She knew Bunshin No Jutsu was your worst jutsu and was frightened at the possibility of you not passing. Hinata turned her gaze a few seats in front of her.

Naruto was clutching his head, his eye twitching dramatically.

Hinata sighed. More than anything, she wanted to become a Genin with you and her Naruto-kun. The prospect of advancing in rank and leaving the two of you behind saddened her deeply.

"When I call your name, follow me to the examination room." Iruka-sensei, completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil he had just forced three of his students to endure, flipped a paper and looked at the list of Academy students. He smiled. "Uzumaki Rukia."

_Damn it! _You cursed, exchanging hopeful glances with Hinata and Naruto before hesitantly walking down the stairs to the waiting Chuunin. You glared weakly at him. _Hasn't he ever heard of alphabetical order?_

Iruka-sensei led you out of the classroom and, passing by a few doors filled with more nervous looking students, he paused in front of a blue door labeled 'Examination Room One' with you waiting anxiously behind him.

His hand paused on the door handle and you distinctly heard him sigh. Iruka-sensei turned to you with a loving look. "Good luck, Rukia." He barely whispered, gazing at you.

A genuine, almost shy, smile formed on your lips.

A warm feeling radiated off of him and sheathed you affectionately; giving you a warmth and comfort you rarely felt. You savored the warm comforting sensation he enclosed you with; something so sweet and delicate more precious than gold. His amorous smile and concerned eyes made you feel a type of safety you often never felt. As though no one could hurt you while he was there; as though he would protect you from any type of heartache; as though he would harm anyone who even dared to look at you wrong…

At times like these, you always found yourself thinking the same thing…

_So this is what it would be like… having a father…_

Iruka-sensei slowly ripped his gaze from your dazed form and hesitantly opened the door, walking in and beckoning you inside as well.

You snapped out of your dreamy stupor and entered the room behind him, looking around.

The room was quite empty, giving students much room to spread out and take tests peacefully, with a single long desk laid at the front. On the desk were numerous headbands, some with straps of different colors instead of the usual blue, laid out and gleaming in the sunlight. You doubted the one you wanted was there but you didn't complain. The thought of receiving any of those headbands, being labeled a kunoichi of Konoha, and taking one step towards the dream of a lifetime consoled you greatly.

"Stand in front, Rukia." Iruka-sensei instructed, pointing to a white 'X' while taking his seat behind the desk. Next to him was a silver haired Chuunin you immediately recognized as Mizuki-sensei. Though he was quite harsh with you and Naruto at first, he grew softer for some reason. But something about that softness… It was completely different than the type Iruka-sensei displays. It was… darker…

"Hai!" You replied, strolling as coolly as possible to the gestured area. Even after that touching moment with Iruka-sensei seconds ago, a familiar type of nervousness kept nipping at you from the inside. This nervousness was the main cause of all your failures. The nipping feeling ate away your insides, leaving you feeling naked and vulnerable. An emotional jolt of fear and pain would halt your movements for an instance. But that instance was enough for a sparring partner to get the better of you. Another side affect to these nerves was the numbness your fingers would endure. Starting from the tips, the numb feeling slowly edged its way down your fingers and hands. Because of the stiffness that usually followed, your jutsu's failed and, often, backfired. If that wasn't enough, Bunshin No Jutsu happened to be your worst jutsu. Combine that with the nervousness and the side affects you were currently feeling and you truly had quite a slim chance of passing.

But your hardheadedness refused to give in. Maybe that personality trait would be enough to pass…

"As I had instructed in the classroom, make at least two clones of yourself." Iruka-sensei ordered; his usual kind tone vanished much to your dismay. A serious expression donned his features and you couldn't help but feel a twinge on desperation. Without the fatherly Iruka-sensei, your confidence lowered dramatically, decreasing your already slim chances.

You nodded in confirmation. Taking a deep breath to compose yourself, you produced the appropriate hand seals and, pausing on the final seal: 'Ram', focused your chakra to the best of your ability. "Bunshin No Jutsu!" You called, feeling your chakra flow almost erratically from your body.

You looked frantically around the room, searching for the clones you so desperately tried to make. But there was nothing there but an empty space. Hearing Iruka-sensei sigh, you narrowed your eyes sadly and turned to look at him.

He was glaring at you angrily with his palm laid flat on the surface of the long desk. "I thought you said you practiced!"

"I did!" You replied hastily, not bothering to throw on your emotional mask. Your eyes showed exactly how desperately frightened you were. You couldn't accept it! "I have been… every day…"

But Iruka-sensei continued to glare. "You failed, Rukia. That means you weren't practicing."

"I-I have been!" You retorted. You were getting desperate now. "But Bunshin No Jutsu is my worst jutsu!"

"Hey, Iruka." Mizuki-sensei spoke for the first time. He glanced at you before turning his attention wholly on Iruka-sensei, who looked at him curiously. "She seems to have the determination of a true shinobi. How about we let her pass?"

Your eyes widen hopefully. This guy… wanted you to pass? You didn't know whether to be suspicious or euphoric. But this puzzle didn't last longer.

"No, Mizuki." Iruka-sensei replied, shaking his head. "In order to pass, Uzumaki Rukia must have made at least two clones. She wasn't even able to produce one!"

You cast your eyes to the floor, letting your long bangs hide most of your face. "But I… practiced so hard."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm a real ninja now, right?"

"Great job! This is something I'd expect from my son!"

"Congratulations on graduating! Mom is going to fix you a great dinner tonight!"

The cheery voices of graduates and their parents mixing and chatting about their success filled the front yard of the Konoha Ninja Academy. Starry eyed children showed off their headbands to one another. Parents chatted and continuously checked and rechecked the test scores pasted on notice boards both outside and inside the building. Apparently, the competition of whose child or children surpassed who was still the hype among the competitive mothers and fathers.

Boys sparred playfully with each other; showing off their ninja skills. A couple girls formed a small circle on the grass, comparing which colored headbands matched perfectly with their ninja clothes and where to wear them.

_A forehead protector is meant for your forehead, idiots!_ You thought bitterly, twisting a blade of grass between your dry fingers.

After your failure, you couldn't bare to face the rest of the class. In an attempt to avoid the sarcastic questions and not-so-shocked expressions, you walked outside the Academy and sat down next to the homemade swing Iruka-sensei had once built for the students. Memories, both good and bad, sometimes involved this swing. You loved to feel the rush of the wind hit your face and blow your hair everywhere. But every time you felt completely away from the pain of the villagers you somehow tolerated, a bunch of girls, led by a pathetic waste of bone and flesh named Ami, would push you off even if you were still swinging. Small scrapes and bruised pained your body every time they pushed you to the floor. You always guessed they waited until you were swinging at your highest to push you off because that was when they would always come. Always when you were swinging your highest.

Why?

Because it would hurt more when you fell.

Naruto eventually trudged out the Academy doors, spotted you and continued his ashamed march with the face of a failure. He sat down on the swing as you made enough room for him to do so. Something compelled him to stare at the graduates as they ran to their parents happily. He slowly turned his body and leaned his head on the rope of the swing, clutching it as well with his sweaty hands. Much like you, Naruto's mask wasn't in place either. In rare moments like these, when you felt like your dreams had been shattered and the broken pieces of your fragile heart were stepped on repeatedly, neither Uzumaki twins troubled themselves enough to put their emotional masks back in place. It would hurt too much to even try… Putting the mask back on would be like accepting the failure.

"Hey, those two are the only ones that failed, right?" A black haired woman maliciously whispered to her brown haired friend; clearly aware that those two who failed could hear her perfectly.

"Serves them right!" The other woman replied, matching not only the same audible whisper of her friend but the malice as well. "If they become ninja, it'll only cause trouble."

"Because they're really mon-"

"Hey, it's forbidden to say anything more than that!" The brown haired woman reprimanded, cutting her friend short.

And besides… accepting failure is much more painful…

Soft footsteps halted in front of you. Mizuki-sensei sent the two women cold glares, sending them shuffling away. The silver haired Chuunin looked warmly at the sight of the two teens sitting sadly before him. They hadn't made Genin and would be forced to undergo remedial classes until they could. But at the rate those two were going, Mizuki-sensei knew that would take too long. But suddenly, an idea struck the Chuunin as he extended a hand in a friendly gesture. "Come with me. I want to show you both something."

Naruto looked up at him and slowly nodded, not really caring about any repercussions in leaving with this man. He was, after all, one of the only people nice to him.

But you, on the other hand, were way too tired. The stress and pain of this day took its unholy toll on you and you found yourself answering his question through a long yawn.

Mizuki-sensei smiled and waved, signaling that there was no need for you to stress yourself further just for him.

You flicked your hand dismissively and upon seeing Naruto nod sadly in return, you turned your back and left.

Unfortunately for you, the villagers took keen notice of your bare forehead and sneered disdainfully. You assumed they were thinking along the same lines those two bitc- women were. They would start off with glares and sneers, some even sending hate filled scowls. Than after the faces, they would begin whispering very audibly. They called you this and that, sometimes following with a hit or two, than ending the torture with the words 'monster' or 'demon' prior to scurrying out of sight.

'Monster' and 'demon'. Those were the two names you could never understand the meaning of. Why would they call you a monster? Or a demon? Was it because of your ears? If so, then why do the same with Naruto?

You bowed your head as you walked past a split in the dirt road; the main walkway leading to the eastern district of Konoha where you lived and the stray trail, surrounded by bloomed Sakura trees, leading to the secluded Hyuuga Compound. Such a peaceful sight it seemed; walking to the Hyuuga Compound. But you knew better. The Hyuuga were strict and stuck up, considering that almost anyone outside the clan was considered a 'commoner', and therefore, unworthy of respect and the title of 'ninja'.

You could safely conclude that the Hyuuga weren't your type of people. With the exception of Hinata of course.

_Hinata…_ Your thoughts went back to the hisses of those two women. They had clearly said that you and Naruto were the **only **ones that failed. That must have meant Hinata had passed and achieved the rank of Genin.

Oh, you only wished you could see her fathers face when he heard the news and slip in some snide remark about the length of his hair as you trampled him wearing sharp cleats. Though this thought was very murderous, and subconsciously you noted that these types of thoughts might be what were triggering the looks and words from the villagers, but it satisfied your urge to stomp to the Compound and whack Hiashi-teme over the head nonstop!

You sighed and continued your walk home, receiving your daily dosage of snarls and hisses with snide remarks about your failure today as an added bonus!

Oh, how fun life was!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You jumped from tree to tree in search of any kind of orange blur or humorous laughter.

It was at least one o'clock now and Naruto hadn't come home. Your train of possible situations and predicaments started taking an insane turn as eleven thirty had approached. Naruto never stayed out late without informing you. Even if it meant traveling all across Konoha and back just to tell you, Naruto would do it. He kept saying how he didn't want to worry you so every night he spontaneously planned to stay out after nine, Naruto would come hurtling in to the apartment red faced and puffing, panting out something like 'need to stay out" or "training must do" or, and this one confused you, "giant ramen bowl flying in the sky". His information usually depended on how far he had run to get to you.

But tonight, Naruto hadn't come. His red face was no where to be seen and as you stood on your roof, peering at the emptying streets and restaurants, you could only assume he was in some kind of danger. You had spent hours on end searching for him or any sign of him. And as you searched, you caught glimpses of gathered Chuunin discussing where Naruto could be. This only made you search more frantically. What if Naruto got in serious trouble this time?

You remembered your idiotic train of thoughts before deciding to search for him.

_What if he accidently killed someone during a late night prank?_ This thought seemed normal enough. But as the time flew by, it got worse. _What if he's being eaten by bloodthirsty Sasuke fan girls!?_ Anyone could admit, this thought wasn't **that** off. Those fan girls always looked at the boys who disrespected Sasuke hungrily. You wouldn't be surprised if they indeed turned out to be cannibals. But there turned out to be more._ What if he ditched Konoha to join a Transylvanian folk singing nomad group with man-skirts and shiny hats!!??_ This, much like the eaten by the fan girls theory, wasn't completely off. Naruto always had a knack for singing and he said he always wanted to travel to Transylvania (where ever that is). Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. _WHAT IF HE'S BEING CHASED BY A PAIR OF PANTS POSSESSED BY FRUIT-BY-THE-FOOT!!!???_

Now that was just plain silly. But… there always has been something strange about fruit-by-the-foot…

And so, with this… disturbing train of thought, you yanked on your sleeveless vest and set out in search of your slightly crazy older brother.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, still dreamily touching his forehead protector. The fact that he had just passed was still sinking in.

"Don't tell Rukia…" Iruka-sensei cast his gaze to the floor, a mixture of sadness and hurt filling his deep brown eyes. The way Naruto had behaved was to be expected by the brown haired Chuunin. And even though, deep in his heart, Iruka-sensei knew you would react the same way… He just didn't want you to know.

The Kyuubi and the Jyuubi.

Two monsters sealed inside two innocent children; invading their bodies and destroying their lives.

One with nine tails and one with ten; each tail signifying how much power it held; each tail signifying how much it crippled its containers abilities; and each tail signifying the pain it made them go through.

Not much is known about these beasts except that there are eight others. And that some type of secret can be discovered through the right means involving all Ten Chakra Beasts. What that secret is remains to be seen. But in the mind of the troubled Chuunin, it may be seen sooner than many expected.

"Naruto! Iruka-sensei!" A familiar voice broke through Iruka-sensei's thoughts. He looked up to see your breathless figure running frantically in his direction; occasionally tripping over your own feet in your haste. As you reached them, you lowered your head, panting, and placed your shaking hands on your equally shaking knees, trying to catch your breath before speaking again. You looked up at the two males with one eye shut. "Where have you guys been?" You demanded.

Your eyes suddenly widen before either male had a chance to answer. There, on Naruto's forehead, tied securely, clear as day, was a blue Konoha headband. The rising sun reflected on the metal of the headband, causing you to squint as it gleamed in your direction. "W-where did you get that…?" You asked breathlessly. It wasn't the running that caused your breathlessness; in fact, your breathing had returned to its normal state. It was the sight of his headband that was causing it.

Naruto proudly stood up and adjusted his headband to his comfort. "Iruka-sensei just gave me his headband because I just passed!"

"You passed?" You asked incredulously, wide eyed. Naruto nodded cockily as you shuffled nervously in place, catching his attention. "That's… uh… that's great…!" You tried to sound cheery; truly you did! But the thought of him leaving you behind drew out strong emotions you just couldn't hide.

Naruto looked at your pained expression before taking off his new headband and staring at for a few moments. His face contorted with many different emotions as though he was debating over something. But in a few moments, Naruto settled on a resolution. He looked sadly down at the headband he held loosely in his hands. More than anything, he wanted this but…

"No…" Naruto whispered, handing the blue headband to Iruka-sensei.

"What?" He asked, not the least bit surprised. He looked at the headband for an amused moment before holding Naruto's unwavering gaze with an odd smile.

"No." Naruto repeated, more firmly this time. He shook the hand he held his headband in, gesturing Iruka-sensei to take it.

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to do this." You whispered in his ear, hoping the honorific would help change his mind. In your heart, this was what you wanted but you wouldn't give in. You wouldn't hold Naruto back just because of your inability to pass the Genin Exams. "Please Naruto-kun."

"No." Naruto said, his voice rising. "I'm not going to leave Rukia-chan behind. If she doesn't become a ninja," Naruto paused, grabbing Iruka-sensei's hand and placing the headband in his palm. "Than I won't either."

_Naruto-kun…_ You looked at him desperately. "Please don't…" You whispered, guilt eating away at you. You were going to be the reason he didn't become a shinobi…

"Okay, Naruto. If you feel that strongly then…" Iruka-sensei began, pushing himself off the ground and dusting himself off; he looked as though he had been through a rough fight. That odd knowing smile continued to play his lips as he teased the two students before him for a few precious seconds. His smile widened. "Then we'll just have to give Rukia another chance, ne?"

Two pairs of wide blue eyes widened in shock. Neither could comprehend what was just happening. Was this just a dream? Were you going to pass as a Genin and finally become a ninja only to be woken up by an annoyingly loud alarm clock?

Oh Kami, you really needed a pinch right now!

"H-how?" Naruto whispered, somehow finding his voice.

"Easy. Naruto, teach Rukia Kage Bunshin No Jutsu and if she learns it in time, she passes." Iruka-sensei said. He glanced at your confused face and explained. "You see, Rukia. There's a loop hole. The specified test was Bunshin No Jutsu but there was nothing that specified **what type** of clone."

"I see!" You exclaimed happily. "I can make a shadow clone and still pass! But wait…" You suddenly realized. "Kage Bunshin is way harder…"

"But I got it!" Naruto said proudly, thrusting his thumb hard against his chest.

"Really?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Now go on." Iruka-sensei coaxed. But there was no need. In a flash, you and Naruto were setting to work.

Naruto handed you a giant scroll, informing you that it would help greatly. He pointed to a sequence of hand seals entitled 'Kage Bunshin No Jutsu' with a clear description written formally underneath it. You happily begin the sequence, feeling confidence charge through you. Naruto had gotten it, right? You had no doubt in your mind that you would too!

But even after several tries, no clones of any sort were made. On your seventh try, you began getting desperate; using an obviously unnecessary amount of chakra in the hopes that it would work. But it was all in vain as no clones whatsoever appeared. Much like during your formal Genin examination, only emptiness surrounded you.

Iruka-sensei reappeared beside a worried Naruto, healed and bandaged appropriately. The young Chuunin's fight had worn him out greatly but, to the best of his abilities; Iruka-sensei left the warm confines of a hospital room to continue to observe your desperate last minute chance at ninja-hood. He gazed at your frustrated figure, shaking and tripping as you hastily continued. With cheerless eyes, Naruto stared hopelessly at you, his throat like sand paper from all the depressing thoughts zooming through his over active imagination.

Iruka-sensei, sensing Naruto's thirst, opened a bottle of water and carefully handed it to him. Naruto simply pushed Iruka-sensei's hand away from him without even looking up, knocking the bottle carelessly to the forest floor. The clear liquid spilled, slowly trailing to the area you had been training where you collapsed on your knees helplessly.

No matter how hard you tried, it just wasn't working. You felt the fight drain out of you as you slowly lifted yourself from the ground and silently grabbed the opened scroll, walking to the two sad males standing a few meters away.

This was it. Even your last chance went to waste all because you couldn't perform that damned jutsu! Clones! Why clones? Why did the Genin Exams have to revolve around making fake copies of yourself?

But it didn't matter anymore. You weren't going to become a Genin. And because of you, Naruto wouldn't either. You held yourself as well as your brother back. This feeling shamed you more than anything. But what could be done? Your final hope was lost and there no way-

_**Splash!**_

Your feet stepped on a small trail of water. You looked down at the water, seeing your own dull reflection stare back at you. Hopeless blue eyes and the face of a loser; they stared back at you.

Ashamed, you turn your gaze back to the scroll, only to have your eyes fall on something very interesting. You furrow your eyebrows in interest.

Iruka-sensei and Naruto began turning their backs and walking ahead as you approached, only to pause upon hearing something very fascinating.

"Mizu Bunshin No Jutsu!"

Iruka-sensei and Naruto stared wide eyed at you… and the three other look-a-likes that suddenly spiraled from the ground like twisting water before molding themselves to look like Uzumaki Rukia. Funny thing: they even wore the same confused expression you did.

The real one, suddenly morphing her features in to something more hope-filled, spoke up. "Do I…?"

Unable to find his own voice, Iruka-sensei simply nodded dumbly. The fact that you had formed three water clones was still sinking in.

Simultaneously, you and your clones burst in to hysterical laughter and singing; two even started dancing with joy. You had done it! You had become a Genin! It was really true!

Your real form, stopping its strange victory ritual, just stared at Iruka-sensei with an indescribable happiness. Your wide sapphire eyes bore in to his deep brown ones, asking a desperate question.

Is this real?

Iruka-sensei nodded quietly with a small smile. A proud feeling welled up inside of him.

His two worst students were about to become the two greatest ninja's.

You beamed joyously back at him, taking a few moments to relax and take in everything.

_I'm finally a Genin!_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[1] A joke with the essence of Death Note. Dropping the 'u' and rearranging the letters in Iruka's name equals 'Kira'. Interesting, neh?


	3. Chapter 3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~  
Chapter 3: Achieve the rank!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Climbing the last flight of stairs, Maito Gai found himself inclining his head respectfully at the two Chuunin guards outside the Third Hokage's office. He knocked on the door thrice before a weary voice ordered him to enter. And so he did.

The Third was sitting in his usual sit behind a mahogany desk with two Chuunin guards flanked on either side of him. Gai was very well informed that the other occupants of the room would be gracing the Third with their presence. Though majority of these instructors Gai had no knowledge of, four of them he found to be familiar faces.

Yuuhi Kurenai, a black haired woman with fierce red eyes and killer knowledge of Genjustu, was sitting gracefully with her legs crossed on one of two chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. Umino Iruka occupied the other. His raw face and bandaged body indicated that he had probably been in the middle of a nasty skirmish. But even with his body being in such a state, Iruka continued to smile.

Gai silently sniffed the air; the smell of smoke was alarmingly high considering that Sarutobi Asuma was not currently smoking. Instead, he was leaning casually on the wall with his lower jaw was moving in a small circular motion. Nicotine, Gai concluded, probably given by Kurenai in order to prevent the occupants of this office to die of second hand smoke. To Asuma's right, Gai immediately felt a fire ignite within the pit of his stomach. Hatake Kakashi had his arms folded elegantly across his chest with a bored expression evident in his eyes. Why he covered his right eye, Gai knew. But that still didn't stop him from despising how cool it made his old rival look. Oh, Kakashi was probably relishing the thought of looking cooler than Gai! But no; Gai wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how angered Gai had become! Instead, Gai decided to play it cool…

"So why have we been called here, Hokage-sama?" Gai exclaimed dramatically, striking a 'good guy' pose.

Sweat drops all around.

The Sandaime cleared his throat and replied in his usual business tone. "I have called you all here to discuss the formation of Genin Teams."

Gai nodded, cupping his chin with one hand whilst the other cupped his elbow as he raised his eyebrows significantly; his 'thinking' pose. "But the teams have already been formed." He mused, furrowing his sweaty eyebrows.

Iruka could only guess that he was having trouble thinking through the possible scenarios. And with a crooked smile and a small sweat drop, Iruka scratched the back of his head, wincing a little. "Well, it seems that Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Rukia have managed to pass."

"Those losers passed?" A Chuunin instructor from the Academy snorted. "How?"

Iruka gritted his teeth but remained calm. "The rules of the exam don't state what type of Bunshin is needed in order to pass. Naruto created Kage Bunshin while Rukia created Mizu Bunshin."

Iruka beamed cheekily at all the instructors as they let this piece of information sink in with shocked and confused faces. The silent air hung like a dead goat around the shinobi present and Iruka couldn't help but feel a stab of pride pierce his good natured heart; his two students should now get the respect they deserve. At least a little.

Another Chuunin instructor, Iruka recognized as Rukia's teacher from the female only class. She brushed her bushy black hair back and pushed up her glasses. "But the _**girl**_," She spat the word with such contempt, Iruka winced. "couldn't even make a decent Bunshin. How on earth did she manage to create a Mizu Bunshin?"

"The same goes for her brother." Yet another Chuunin instructor agreed. Iruka remembered that man had been Naruto's cruel instructor before he was switched to Iruka's class. The instructor, Yamamoto, had ignored Naruto way too much during the Academy and when he did acknowledge Naruto, he did so with such hatred and ridicule, Naruto would physically recoil in his seat.

Iruka shifted painfully in his seat to glare at him more efficiently. "Maybe if some teachers did their job right and didn't ignore their students, they could have passed with the rest of their year yesterday." He spat, startling the two Chuunin.

They stayed silent but Iruka could still see the hatred in their eyes. _At least they quieted down about it,_ Iruka consoled himself.

The Hokage coughed, indirectly ordering every one to shut up and focus on him for at least a second. He eyed them all like a hawk hunting its prey. "In any case, both children have passed and it is my duty to assign them to a Genin team."

"As you all know," Iruka began. "Without the two who've just passed recently, there were thirty-two new Genin awaiting their placement on a squad. Nine three-man teams with one four-man have already been decided with Uchiha Sasuke, the top student of this year, placed on a second year Genin squad." Iruka inclined his head courteously towards Gai, who nodded back. "But now with the edition of Naruto and Rukia, the past arrangements must be altered to fit them both in."

"I'll take them both." Kakashi spoke up, taking a step forward. "It would be very interesting to have both containers to observe up close."

"They're not just containers!" Iruka spat, snapping his head so fast to face Kakashi, everyone was amazed his head was still in tact.

"Calm down, Iruka." Kakashi advised coolly, not the least bit taken aback by Iruka's outrage.

Iruka glowered in his seat. How dare he refer to them as containers? They had more humanity than any villager in Konoha. _But that isn't saying much,_ Iruka mused bitterly. _After all, it was these villagers who inhumanly treated Naruto and Rukia worse than dirt._

"I thought you said you wouldn't be taking on students this year, Kakashi…" The Hokage's frail voice trailed of as he looked at Kakashi expectantly.

"Well, with the edition of two Genin," Kakashi explained, locking eyes with the age old Hokage. "I thought it would be interesting seeing as though the two editions are… unique." He glanced at Iruka's twitching eyebrows. "I will take them both as well as Haruno Sakura."

"Asuma." The Third addressed the slightly irked Jounin. Apparently Nicotine wasn't as good as a replacement for cigarettes as Kurenai had thought. "This means that Haruno Sakura will leave Team 10 and join Team 7 instead. Is that alright with you?"

Asuma nodded. It wasn't only alright, it was great! Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura were known for their over the top arguments and placing them on the same team was just asking for trouble. Fortunately Sakura was being removed, meaning that Asuma would have less of a headache. Just that thought made him chew on his Nicotine a little happier.

"Very well then. Ten three-man teams will be formed with Uchiha Sasuke placed on Team Gai." The Hokage declared, placing his elbows on the desk with his hands folded and his chin resting tiredly on them. "Alright the-"

"Hokage-sama!" Gai exclaimed, breaking his 'thinking' pose and striking yet another embarrassing 'good guy' pose. "I would like to have Uzumaki Rukia placed on my second year Genin squad!"

Everyone was silent.

"No!" Iruka suddenly spoke up, finally realizing what he meant. He shot out of his seat and faced the Third with panic-stricken eyes. "It's better if Rukia remains with Genin her own level. Uchiha Sasuke is to be placed on a second year team because he is the top and most talented student. He has a much more likely chance to suit the second year team than Rukia does!"

"Iruka…" Gai said softly, shaking his head with disapproval, causing Iruka to shakily turn his head. "You seem to care about this girl so much and yet you are undermining her youthfulness."

"And he'll turn Rukia in to one of him!"

Gai, ignoring Iruka's last outburst, continued in his oddly soft voice. "I have observed the Academy many times during the year I was to first take on three Genin. As I did choose Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten as youthful enough for my team, I have observed a young Uzumaki Rukia on the side lines."

Iruka's eye twitched. How had he not seen that?

"She is a youthful girl with the potential to become a genius of hard work like Lee." Gai continued, a determined note hidden somewhere in his abnormally composed voice. Strangely enough, he was acting very serious, which subconsciously caught Iruka's keen attention. "I have observed her skills and have deduced that she is in dire need of assistance because, like Iruka had clearly stated, she was being ignored during her Academy days."

All the Chuunin instructors, save Iruka, shifted uncomfortably at the mention but Gai showed them no acknowledgment. A small part of him, a very un-Gai like part, sang with glee as he took in the uneasy silence behind him.

"And I feel that I can help her make up for those lost days. So I humbly request her permanent presence on Team Gai." Gai finished, bowing respectfully to the contemplating Hokage.

"But I still wish to keep Uzumaki Naruto on Team 7." Kakashi added, taking his place beside Gai and mimicking his low bow.

After a moment or two of deep contemplation and consideration, the Third opened his eyes, revealing his new found resolution. "Very well. Uzumaki Rukia will be placed on Team Gai, formally known as Team 6, " The Hokage muttered the last part inaudibly, clearing still disliking Gai's choice of team title. He coughed to disguise his seeming pause and continued. "Uzumaki Naruto will be place on Team 7 along with Uchiha Sasuke. Is that fine with you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi nodded. "The Uchiha survivor and the Kyuubi's conta- and Uzumaki Naruto." Kakashi shot a fleeting glance at Iruka's narrowed eyes. "To have both of them on my team will be very… interesting."

_Darn Kakashi! _Gai cursed in his head, glaring at the masked Jounin. _He's trying to sound so mysterious!_

"Very well then." The Sandaime concluded, placing his palms squarely on his desk. "Every thing has been decided and taken care of. Are there any complaints?"

Silence.

"Then you are all dismissed!" The Hokage boomed as all the instructors disappeared.

Iruka stayed a while longer, mulling over what had just occurred. Naruto would be under the tutelage of Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Cat Ninja. And Rukia would be under the tutelage of Maito Gai, Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast…

Iruka sighed. Would Rukia be able to handle Gai's… youthfulness?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Rukia." Iruka-sensei softly called, waving his arm. "Come on. I need to give you your headband."

You literally screeched in excitement. A headband; you were going to receive a real Konoha forehead protector. This day just couldn't get any better…

You slowly walk beside a giddy Naruto. The headband Iruka-sensei gave him was almost immediately tied back on when Naruto realized you passed. You exchanged beaming smiles with him. Everything really seemed to be falling in place.

"Oh yeah!" You exclaimed, suddenly remembering why you were there in the first place. You poke Naruto in the shoulder to catch his attention. "Why were you out so late?"

Naruto's body visibly tensed as did Iruka-sensei's. But in a split second, they both relaxed. Naruto turned to you with a bright smile. "I was training!"

You looked at him skeptically. "Why did you come home to tell me, then?"

"I forgot." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head with an awkward grin.

You rolled your eyes. "How did you get that scroll anyways? And why were there Chuunin's chasing afte-"

"Rukia." Iruka-sensei interrupted, beckoning you to walk in toe with him. As you did, he continued. "I have something special for you."

"Special?" You asked suspiciously. The last time he had something 'special' for you, it turned out to be a week long assignment about toad stools. You ended up getting angry at the toad stool for being so boring you actually ate it… and poisoned yourself. Those three days in the hospital were really memorable… for some more than others…

_Those stupid nurses deserved to be barfed on!_ You thought evilly, kicking a pebble with your foot.

"Hai, Rukia." Iruka-sensei confirmed, nodding his head with a restrained smile. It was a surprise that he didn't want to ruin. "Now come to my office so I can give it to you."

"What about my headband!?" You asked, eyes widening at the thought of not receiving one.

Iruka-sensei chuckled. "All in due time, Rukia. Be a little patient."

"Hai, hai!"

Iruka-sensei led you across the forest to the playground behind the Konoha Ninja Academy using a nifty little short cut. This playground, surrounded by the standard metal fence, was empty. The slide collected the dust the night wind had thrown about and the bottom of the merry-go-round was drenched with the dew of the fresh green grass below it.

You stepped over a faded hopscotch chalk drawing, follow Iruka-sensei to his office; a place you were oh so familiar with.

The reasonable sized room consisted of a large oak desk with papers scattered seemingly haphazardly over the surface. Two filing cabinets were on either side; each containing the information and personal records of various students Iruka-sensei taught. From what he's told you and Naruto during one yelling session in there for attaching a rope to one of the Sensei's underwear and hoisting it above her head at exactly the right moment; you and Naruto had a special drawer dedicated to both of your mischief.

You smiled, entering the room and gazing around. Nothing had changed.

Iruka-sensei still had that those two pictures on his desk; one with his teammates and Sensei and the other with you and Naruto with pieces of noodles and splashes of soup around your mouths. You remembered that day perfectly. Iruka-sensei had first taken you both to Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. And though old man Ichiraku was hesitant at first, he grew to love his two frequent customers as they continuously complemented his cooking. It was a good thing too! All the other ramen places, and every other restaurant for that matter, kicked you out. Sometimes they wouldn't even let you in. Shops and other groceries stores would charge an exceedingly higher price than normal, taking advantage of the monthly allowance the Third Hokage would provide.

But you were straying off topic.

Iruka-sensei's office was exactly the last time you had entered it; which happened to be yesterday.

"I have it here somewhere." Iruka-sensei muttered, rummaging through the top drawers of his desk. The look of frustration on his face interested you in finding out what this 'special' thing was. Suddenly, his frustration morphed into triumph as he pulled the item out of the drawer. "Found it!"

Your eyed widen for what seemed like the third time this morning. It looked exactly like the one you wanted but… could it be?

The Konoha emblem carved perfectly in to the metal attached to the exceedingly long black straps. The metal, shined to perfection, had small scratches embedded in to it, showing that the previous owner of this headband had gone through a great deal. The previous owner…

"Hayate Rukia's headband…" You murmured in awe, reaching a shaking hand to at least touch it. You halted your movements suddenly as realization dawned on you. Your wide blue eyes twinkled with faint hope as they stared at Iruka-sensei in amazement. "You… you said that… that something was for me…"

Iruka-sensei smiled – somewhat smugly – at your astonishment. He felt proud that he had managed to save up enough money to buy the historic headband most young doe-eyed kunoichi or kunoichi-in-training sought after. It was the headband that inspired many young girls to become great fighters and protectors; allowing themselves to feel worthy enough to even touch the faint metal carvings entrenched behind the proud Konoha symbol. It was this headband that belonged to the greatest kunoichi in, your opinion, the entire world.

"You're giving me Hayate Rukia's headband!" You squealed, your eyes widening animatedly with gleaming stars forming in them. You folded your hands and positioned them near your chin with your lips parted ever so slightly; a look of pure innocent desire.

Iruka-sensei couldn't help but chuckle at your childish actions; even though you were fifteen years old, you still had the heart and mind of a ten year old troublesome little girl. It gave him strange warmth inside. He truly wondered if this was the dream of every parent; having their child never grow up. But he pushed that thought aside and continued to gaze at your childish visage. "Yes, Rukia. I'm giving you the last Kirakage's headband."

You burst in a fit of hysterical laughter, grasping the cool metal of the black headband with your sweaty hands and spinning wildly on the spot.

"Neh, neh! Who's Hayate Rukia and what's a Kirakage?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

"We discussed this in class, Naruto!" Iruka-sensei scolded, placing his hands on his hips with an intimidating stare. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"I must have fallen asleep or something…" Naruto answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with a twitching nervous smile.

Iruka-sensei sighed and burst in to a detailed account on the history lesson Naruto had fallen asleep in.

You stopped your mad spinning and looked at the faint carving on the back of the headband. It was genuine; there was no mistaking it. You really had Hayate Rukia's – the last Kirakage's – headband held within your shaking hands. A type of euphoria graced your body, causing you to shudder in excitement and anticipation. This was really her headband…

No… this was now **your** headband.

Your fingers traced the engraving as you recalled the first day your eyes landed on this historic item.

_Never Give Up _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A blond pigtailed eight year old little girl walked along the eggshell colored halls of the Konoha Ninja Academy. Her hair bounced as she skipped occasionally on her way to see her favorite teacher; granted that he was the only teacher who taught her probably, he was still above and beyond just a good teacher. He was like a father.

The occasional windows you walked by cast a deep orange light on your naturally bright blond hair, darkening the shade from yellow to orange. Traces of the orange light lingered in your sparkling eyes as you skipped again, happily coming to a halt in front of the door to your destination.

Without even bothering to knock, you wrench the door open and skip inside happily, seeing a startled Iruka-sensei pause his filing to glance up at the doorway. He registered your indecent entry with a polite nod and a pleasant smile before returning to his filing.

You beamed at Iruka-sensei, folding your hands behind your back and tilting your head to the side. Your pigtailed hair brushed gently against your cheek as you continued your silence.

Iruka-sensei sighed. You more often than not did this whenever you needed something; usually desperately. He silently pondered whether this desperate something would clear out his wallet like last time – correction: like the last ten times. He looked at your angelic figure wearily. "What is it this time, Rukia?"

You made a look of mock outrage; you puffed your cheeks with a pink blush placed strategically on your cheek bones as your lips pressed together and stuck them out. "Why do you always think I come here to ask for something?"

Iruka-sensei looked at you with a raised eyebrow. "Because every time you come here, especially this late in the afternoon, it's usually for something expensive."

"So that's why you didn't greet me properly?" You screeched, pointing a small accusing finger at him whilst trying your best to retain that look of mock outrage.

"I was going to greet you formally but when I say that it was you-"

"Who did you think it was going to be? The Boogeyman?"

Iruka-sensei shook his head in irritation but the faint indications of a suppressed smile were blatantly obvious. "Don't be childish Rukia. The Boogeyman doesn't exist."

"Don't say that!" You hissed, mortified. You dropped your voice to a low but urgent whisper whilst moving your hand in a slapping motion rapidly near your chin. "He'll send Mrs. Boogeywoman and his Boogeychildren on you! Maybe me too!"

Iruka-sensei paused his filing to glance at you for moment before daring to delve deeper. "And why won't the Boogeyman come himself?"

"He's so lazy!" You rolled your eyes mournfully. "He makes his wife and children do all the work. And all he does is sit on his Boogeycouch in his Boogeyliving-room in his Boogeyhouse while watching his favorite Boogeyshows on his Boogeytelevision."

"I see-"

"I don't see how Boogeywoman can take it!" You exclaimed, pulling on your pigtails dramatically. "The abuse and manipulation by the Boogeyman to his family is really bad!"

"Rukia…"

"He makes them do all the work while he sits and does what? Crap!"

"Rukia…?"

"He lives off the money Boogeywoman and his Boogeychildren make like a bum!"

"Rukia?"

"And not only that, he gets pension! How can he get pension!? That lazy asshole has never done anything! He should've been murdered a long time ago but since the Boogeywoman fell in love with hi-"

"Rukia!" Iruka-sensei snapped, cutting you off mid-rant. This was getting too weird for his liking and, after considering a trip to Konoha's asylum, Iruka-sensei wheeled past his desk and placed his hands on the tiny shoulders of your seething form.

You looked up at him, forgetting your anger towards the lame-butt Boogeyman.

"Do you understand anything you just said?"

You shrugged. "Some words I just heard the villagers use so no… I didn't know exactly what I was saying… What does asshole mean?" You screwed up your face with curiosity. Whatever the word meant, it sounded painful.

Iruka-sensei sighed and returned to his filing. "Never mind that, Rukia. Why are you here?"

"Well, I needed some mo- What's that?" You cut yourself off, pointing a tiny finger to a black headband held within Iruka-sensei firm grasp.

"Ah." Iruka-sensei made a sound of understanding. He waved the headband around a bit with a joyful smile. "This is Hayate Rukia-sama's headband."

"Hayate… Rukia…?"

"Hai!" Iruka-sensei enthusiastically beamed, placing the headband on his desk with extreme care before opening his filing drawer, fingering through the tagged folders. His finger paused on one labeled "History Curriculum – Class 1". Iruka-sensei grabbed the thick faded yellow folder and thumbed through the history lessons for Rukia's year. His eyes scanned a lesson calendar and, with a noise of slight shock vibrating his throat, Iruka-sensei nodded. "I didn't know you would be learning about her so soon but it just so happens, your lesson on the last Kirakage; Hayate Rukia-sama, is due to be taught in three days time."

"Kirakage? Is that like a Hokage?" You asked, leaning forward in interest.

Iruka-sensei shook his head. "Kirakage is a much higher rank than Hokage or any other Kage of the major Hidden Villages."

You gaped at Iruka-sensei like a floundering fish. This… Kirakage thing sounded so cool to your twitching fox ears. Excitement flooded your small body as you jumped up and down on the spot, your ears begging for more.

Iruka-sensei let out a hearty chuckle but shook his head. "No, Rukia."

"Why!?" You whined, stomping with one foot before crossing your arms tightly across your chest like a spoilt brat.

"Because," Iruka-sensei replied soothingly. Something about his voice made you stop your childish behavior and pay close attention to him; which was quite odd considering your five-second attention span. Iruka-sensei carefully grabbed the black headband and stored it neatly in a glass case, trying his best to avoid your disappointed blue eyes. "I want you to start paying more attention during class. If you listen closely, you'll hear everything about Hayate Rukia-sama and the Kirakage's during the mixed class on Thursday; three days from now."

You scrunched your nose. Though your face appeared cute, you felt murderous inside. This Hayate Rukia character really captured your interest; which was something fairly new to you. And the term Kirakage… Something about it made your ears perk up and your face screw up with concentration. You wanted to hear more. A lot more. But Iruka-sensei made it crystal clear that he would give no additional information until his class, so you could only wait until then.

The next few days, everyone took notice of how eagerly you participated during each lesson Iruka-sensei taught about the last Kirakage; Hayate Rukia. Every time Iruka-sensei would pause for breath or a sip of water, you would use this opportunity to shoot your hand up, questions battling it out in your mind for supremacy. Thankfully for you, Iruka-sensei taught every class involving this fascinating subject so every question you had was answered in detail, without the annoyed glances and haughty snorts. In fact, Iruka-sensei was exceptionally eager to answer any query floating in your head; being productive in class was far more appealing for him than sneaking out or falling asleep during important lectures.

Everything about this woman; her life, her abilities, her personality, her reign as Kirakage; everything about Hayate Rukia caught your interest and intertwined itself in to your daily life until you were found always bragging about becoming the best; just like her. Though many villagers would simply brush it off or worse, laugh like they'd heard nothing more ridiculous in their entire worthless lives; but no matter what they did, they could never dissolve your dream. Firmly and confidently, you watched the training videos outside stores and other ninja's spar with each other or practice with training dummies or large tree stumps when they weren't looking before imitating exactly what you saw. Though at some point you guessed they figured out as the store owners began playing more dangerous videos with highly advanced techniques on their show case television sets and the ninja's you would usually watch performed nearly life-threatening moves for inexperienced youngsters. But none of that mattered – Okay, maybe it did around the time you were sent to the hospital with numerous injuries and broken limbs from performing a series of kicks and punches followed by a twisting high jump that went terribly wrong, leaving you crippled for two weeks in a painfully white hospital room surrounded by malevolent doctors and wicked nurses that tried to poison you near death whenever possible. Of course, multiple 'nice' nurses attempted to trick Naruto in to eating a poisonous apple when ever he came to visit you. At one point, he did ingest a poisonous apple given by a particularly deceitful nurse and ended up sharing a hospital room with you for the remainder of your stay.

But no matter how many times those doctors and nurses sneered and snickered at your declaration, you would never give up hope. Kirakage and everything associated with it; it all became your dream. It kept you alive during the days with no sunlight and nights with no moonbeams. And much like the dream of attaining the title of Hokage Naruto got dibs on; it helped you survive the senseless torture.

_Never Give Up _One day, the same black headband you had gotten glimpses of in Iruka-sensei's office that pleasant orange afternoon made its second appearance during one of Iruka-sensei's mixed lessons. The faded words 'Never Give Up' was messily engraved in to the back of the headband. You remembered staring in awe at the sight of it. Those words loomed over your head encouragingly; as if advising you to get up no matter how many times you fall.

Somehow you still managed to listen and practically memorize every word escaping Iruka-sensei's lips even though those powerful words kept repeating themselves in your mind. Like on the metal of Hayate Rukia's headband, those words engraved themselves in your mind and influenced everything you did from then on.

During aiming practices and physical training, you chanted those words in your head continuously. And in doing so, you would stand back up every time you fell; would try again every time you failed; would continue to reach for the blue sky every time you were pulled down; and always… always striving and giving it your all. All because one woman left her dire imprint on the world.

Your dream: To achieve the rank of Kirakage!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	4. Chapter 4

For those of you wondering, more information about Hayate Rukia and what exactly a Kirakage is will be released in oncoming chapters. Also, this is the chapter where the Tenten bashing begins. I implore you: please bear with it for a while as she will improve gradually. No flames regarding this, please and thank you.

XoXoMaya-chanXoXo  
And cursing crudely as she tries to find her right sock,  
XoXoMimi-chanXoXo

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~  
Chapter 4: My Team…!?

_No seriously…_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Neh, neh! What happened to her then?" Naruto asked excitedly. Inwardly, he cursed himself for falling asleep in that class. This Kirakage business was so interesting; no wonder you would rush him to class early every Thursday.

Iruka-sensei shook his head with a shrug. "No one knows. She had a mission from the Village Hidden Beneath the Sun to retrieve a special herb for the Village's oldest and wisest councilor, Yamada Hiroko. The mission entailed climbing to the Forbidden Mountains in search for that herb and in the end, she just disappeared."

"Why are those mountains forbidden? And why didn't she just search somewhere else?"

"Well, Naruto…" Iruka-sensei began in a low whisper. What he was speaking of was of serious business and from the abnormally serious look donning Naruto's features, Iruka-sensei was certain his attitude was being well thought of. "Rukia-sama didn't search for the special herb anywhere else because it couldn't be found anywhere else. And as for the mountains…" Iruka-sensei paused, closing his eyes and recalling the words his Chuunin instructor had once said to him. "Demons of the foulest kinds lurk there. Although many of these demons are of weaker species than others, they ban together as though they have the God given ability to plan and execute accordingly. Anyone lost enough to wander in that area… or anyone foolish enough to enter it knowingly… they have surely sentenced themselves to death. Nothing but a painful end waits any who pass beyond the barren land dividing the blissfully living and those condemned.  
"Even the barren land dividing us has the putrid smell of blood and rotting flesh hanging heavily in the air. So much so, that breathing is nearly impossible."

Naruto involuntarily shuddered. Places such as the Forbidden Mountains were scarce but they existed nonetheless. As brave as Naruto could be, such descriptive statements of such a frightening land pierced his naïve bravery with no remorse. But he showed not his cowardice in full view of the two occupying the office with him; no, he simply nodded and stretched his body in an attempt to hide his shudder.

Iruka-sensei remained oblivious to Naruto's shudder and turned his gaze to your reminiscing form.  
Big sapphire orbs were cloaked with a familiar sheen; a small sincere smile played your lips; your muscles visibly relaxed and lifted of stress: Iruka-sensei knew what you were thinking of and with a small chuckle, he moved to shake your shoulders and snap you out of that evocative trance you were in. But he needn't have bothered to.

"Some people say that she was devoured by demons and turn into one of them…" You trailed off, locking eyes with Iruka-sensei.

He saw the question held within them: he shook his head. "No one really knows what happened but it's obvious that rumor is just that. A blind statement." He added with an amused grin as you had cocked your head to the side. But your head remained like so. "No evidence."

Your once smiling lips form a small "O" and you nodded, taking in the information.

Iruka-sensei glanced at the digital alarm clock near the edge of his desk: 4:37 AM  
"You two…" He called gently. Both twins turned their heads to gaze expectantly at their sensei. Iruka-sensei couldn't suppress a smile: the look of cute confusion mixed with complete euphoria was an endearing combination. "I need to speak to the Hokage about your team placements. So I'm off, okay?"

Two nods and wide grins came his way.

Iruka-sensei waved goodbye and instructed you and Naruto to get as much rest as possible prior to returning to the Academy before or strictly by noon. After grinning knowingly, Iruka-sensei dashed out of the classroom just as both twins were about to bombard him with questions about the Genin squads. He couldn't help but feel a tiny stab of guilt when he had caught a glimpse of Naruto's crestfallen face as he left but it couldn't be helped. You both would just have to wait until 12:00 PM.

_I wonder what team they'll be placed in… _Iruka-sensei mused as he jumped from tree to tree, drawing ever closer to the Hokage's building.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

12:00 PM came by after an eternity of tossing and turning in bed, twisting your body in the blankets before dropping ungracefully on the floor: It was pretty much obvious that you were _**a tad**_ excited.

No: try seven tads and nineteen smidgens.

But as long as an eternity could torture you, noon had to come by sometime, and that sometime was now.

You sat perched on your seat as students entered the classroom: some were coming in with an excited dynamism; some with awkward nervousness; and a certain pair with angry panting and heated glares.

Haruno Sakura, a pink haired, smart girl – though she would have been much smarter in your eyes if she didn't chase the chicken haired Uchiha around like a crazed fan girl (which she pretty much is at this point) – and Yamanaka Ino, a blond haired, total Sasuke-crazed fan girl – who, unfortunately, is an embodiment of the blond = ditsy stereotype – entered the room with red faces, tiredly huffing and puffing – you were quite glad your apartment stood on the other side of Konoha. The two girls glared at each other before declaring themselves the winner of some kind of race. But as both girls heard the other's declaration, they continued glaring and arguing until their attention became distracted by the raven haired epitome of darkness -- er, by Uchiha Sasuke. The fine young specimen of ninja hotness – definition courtesy of the Extremely Superficial Sasuke Fan Club (TM) – was sitting in his seat, hunched with his chin resting coolly on his folded hands. The two, suddenly starry eyed, girls ran up to him – the pink haired one receiving a hearty greeting from Naruto, not only to ignore it, but to also push the orange clad Genin to the floor as he was blocking Sakura's way to the oh-so desired seat next to a rather annoyed Sasuke.

As Sakura and Ino fumed over who would sit next to their precious Sasuke-kun, more and more girls approached, seemingly out of no where, to join the feud. Poor things: Sasuke-kun didn't even look like he cared; he sort of had this "Shut up or I'm going to kill you all" type of look on his face – though it was quickly changed to a "Why won't you listen to me?" type of expression as the girls continued their meaningless verbal skirmish.

Naruto, hoisting himself off the ground and regaining his composer, crouched deeply, eye level with Sasuke on the table. His anger emitted from his eyes as static, meeting Sasuke's half way between what little space there was. Girls started cheering Sasuke on, screaming "Beat his ass!" or "You can take him, Sasuke-kun!" or "I'm a little teapot, short and stout!" – the final of which you were singing cheerily before internally exploding ("I am **not** short or stout!").

Naruto and Sasuke were perfectly in the spotlight; well, not perfectly as some – namely boys – were chatting amongst themselves. Proof lies in the fact that one particular boy rose from his seat in excitement about a certain piece of information (something about a bucket of worms, three chicken feathers, and a rather long piece of roped hair) and bumped Naruto as he jumped up. The boy turned to apologize but froze instantaneously.

Oh the spotlight was most _**definitely **_perfectly on them now.

The effect of that bump was quite amazing, though somewhat disturbing, in your opinion: Naruto's body was forced forward without warning and because Sasuke had no time to react or preferably dodge, Naruto's lips collided, full force, atop Sasuke's; their first kiss.  
They ripped apart; revolted and spluttering incoherent threats between disgusted spits.

A deadly silence followed for about two seconds before the Extremely Superficial Sasuke Fan Club (TM) took painful action in the form of beating Naruto to a bloody pulp. Your hysterical laughing helped his situation though: they immediately targeted you after landing several hits on the frightened blond boy. You stopped mid-curse as Iruka-sensei entered the classroom and instructed every one to sit down as he announced the teams.

Hinata glanced at you with a hopeful smile; she wanted a placement with you as well as Naruto. You had explained to Hinata thoroughly and truthfully the eventful night that lead to your crowning… your headband-ing (definitely better) of Hayate Rukia's headband – well maybe not entirely true… that part about the ambush of S class criminals was slightly far fetched but you would definitely karate chop them and turn them into hot miso ramen when you became Kirakage… and learned karate! In any case, Hinata was ecstatic when she heard the wonderful news; promising to make some delicious, healthy food as a celebration after today.

So with the promise of Hinata's excellent cooking and the promise of official ninja-hood, your spirits were high and your expectations were great; nothing could bring you down!

"Team Seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto's hands shot up in delight as Sakura's head drooped low with a dark cloud surrounding her head and depression lines near her forehead, "and Uchiha Sasuke." Vice versa.

Hinata muttered inaudibly under her breath but you caught the words "with Naruto" and "here is my handle" – though the latter was probably your mind as it sang that nursery rhyme continuously – and you immediately grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly; though she wasn't on Naruto's team, she would definitely be in yours.

Naruto tried to make a fuss about Sasuke's placement but was chided harshly. You were too as you snickered humorously at Naruto being "dead last"; apparently you were "even deader last". You sighed: if it was triplets instead of twins, you wondered whether you would have been "deadest last".

"Team Eight: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino."

You sighed again, glancing at Hinata's crestfallen face before giving her a side hug. The pale eyed girl looked at you mournfully, her complexion even paler. She desired a placement in a Genin squad with you above all else; you felt the same. But this was a circumstance that could have a positive effect on Hinata: she could make more friends and become more confident. You, on the other hand, saw no positive outcome of a placement with others: they made it perfectly clear they hated you and wanted absolutely nothing to do with you about the fifteenth time you came running home with a number of bruises and a hurt self esteem. This depressing outcome was inevitable in your placement in another team, but your spirits remained high – although slightly lowered – and your expectations great – though much less greater.

Remaining teams were called forth: apparently, from the mess of complaints flowing out of Ino's mouth, Team Nine consisted of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. You were guessing, as actual fire roared around her body and she fumed with a menacing killing intent directed mainly towards a cheekily smiling Sakura, that she was kind of upset with this placing.

You were on the verge of laughing and knowingly earning yourself an hours worth of painful punches from the deadly blond but immediately stopped when Hinata pointed out something very crucial.

"You haven't called my name!" You exclaimed suddenly, drawing eyes to your frightened figure.  
What if they decided to drop you? What if adults had rallied against your being a ninja and the Hokage demoted you?! What if they had erased you from existence and not calling your name was just a phase of their evil plot??!! WHAT IF THE TEAPOT STEAMED UP BUT NO ONE WAS THERE TO POUR THE TEA OUT???!!!

_What is with me and teapots today?_ You wondered, distracted momentarily.

"I was just about to explain that Rukia." Iruka-sensei stated. "Due to the number of Genin, it had been decided that one Genin must be assigned to a volunteered second year Genin squad. Initially, one four man team was to be formed and the top student, Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka-sensei nodded politely at said attentive student. "But with the addition of Naruto and yourself, Rukia, the arrangements have been changed."

"That still doesn't explain anything~!" You sang, bouncing on your heels with a knowing look in your eyes and a raised eyebrow.

Iruka-sensei smiled. "Basically, you were chosen for that second year squad."

You gaped at Iruka-sensei. "Seriously? I thought Sasuke was going to be placed there!"

"But the Jounin instructor requested your presence on his team when he learnt of your success."

"Say what now?"

"He picked you over Sasuke." Iruka-sensei sighed: he forgot that he needed to be as blunt as a bowling ball with you sometimes; probably as strong too if he took into account your mischievous nature.

You sat down in a shocked silence. Your mouth was a gaping hole but no words vibrated your vocals cords to give you speech. Then suddenly, your eyes glazed over with stars as you turned to Hinata with a gleeful smile. "He **chose** me! Can you believe it?"

Hinata nodded.

"Seriously!" You pressed, folding your hands near your chin with your eyes growing bigger and starrier as you leaned towards Hinata. "Not Sasuke: the top student, me: the apparently deader last student!"

Hinata nodded again with an affectionate smile. "He probably thought you had more potential than Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah…" You whispered breathlessly, finally closing your eyes and returning to your proper seat. "Yeah… he probably did…"

Hinata giggled but was immediately stifled when Iruka-sensei beckoned you to the front of the classroom. With a quick hug and a good luck wish, you literally skipped down the steps and halted in front of Iruka-sensei with the widest smile he had ever seen on your face.

Iruka-sensei instructed you to take a couple flights of stairs to the roof of the Academy for your new **second year** – that still caused you to feel all warm and fuzzy inside – Genin squad.

You did so, climbing the last flight of stairs by twos in eagerness.  
A blue door separated you from the four beings awaiting the arrival of their latest teammate: you. Oh how you tingled at this thought! A strange giddiness erupted in your stomach and spread throughout your entire body, causing you to shake on the spot as violently as an erupting volcano.

This was it; the moment of truth. You were to meet the four ninja's with whom you would spend years with in training and missions. A small fear still gnawed at you inside at the thought of these people disliking you like the rest of this village. But this man; the Jounin instructor had specifically chosen you over Sasuke, right? He couldn't be all that bad, right? And he had been with this team for about a year so his actions and general behavior should rub off at least a little on his pupils, right? So they can't all be bad, r-right?

You shook out all negative thoughts with a violent shake of the head; this would get you no where and until you actually opened this door and stepped over the threshold, it was all just mere speculation. No, it wasn't even speculation: speculation requires some sort of evidence – even an exceedingly small amount; you had nothing! You only knew this man requested your presence but that was completely it! You didn't know what he looked like; what he acted like; what he taught like; what he believed; what he hates and what he loves; you knew none of this. He was a complete mystery that needed solving!

So, with a forced burst of courage, you pulled the door wide open and ran over the threshold…

…and tripped…

_Damn it! _You cursed as your delicate nose received a painful bruise from the face first fall._ I made a fool out of myself already! What will they think?_

A deep scoff made you snap your head upright: that scoff sounded vaguely familiar. Haughty, egotistical, and… _Oh my frickin' God…_

He stood there with his body leaning against the metal railing of the Academy's roof; one hand laying gently on the rusting metal and the other resting peacefully on his hip; a fine eyebrow was raised and that same condescending look was held in his milky eyes, closely accompanied by a contemptuous smirk; his hair was still gathered in a loose pony with his long bangs falling level with his broad shoulders and brushing against his pale cheeks; his clothing was exactly the same but with the edition of another wrapping of bandages covering his left leg; the scoff you heard came from him, you were sure: that same boy you ran into two days ago.

He was here… but why?

You weren't left too long to wonder as two green monsters appeared suddenly before you, too close for comfort, screaming something incoherent to your ears as you tripped and fell again from shock, this time on your bum.

The two monsters were, in fact, two people – though as you stared into their faces, you didn't see how the first description contradicted the latter. A tall man with a shiny head of bowl cut hair and the thickest eyebrows you had ever seen stood before you in a green jumpsuit and a matching green Jounin vest with orange leg warmers and his Konoha headband tied loosely around his waist. Another male stood next to him; his appearance was just as _**unique**_ as the other: save the Jounin vest and with the edition of bandages wrapped around his hands, past his wrists, and stopping near his elbows. The two were in similar stances: one arm raised with a hearty thumbs up and a shiny grin – you swore you heard a _**Ping!**_ as the sun reflected off their startlingly white teeth.

You took a few seconds to take in their odd appearance, faintly remembering they had exclaimed some sort of welcome – though you couldn't be quite sure as you were too busy trying to sort out which emotion to currently feel: anger and fear or complete hysteria.

A muffled giggle caught your attention and you craned your head to get a better look at the source. A girl with dark blue pants and a pink Chinese top with red edges stood a little way from you; her hair was styled in two buns and her eyes were big and brown: giving her the perfect panda look. Her countenance was laced with a slight dislike; her nose was scrunched and her eyebrows knitted together with her lips pursed: she clearly didn't enjoy your entry.

"Uzumaki Rukia-san, yes?" The taller of the two unique ninja's asked. He extended his arm to help you up but you ignored it and pushed yourself off the ground. The man just continued to smile, seemingly awaiting your response.

You nodded with uncertainty; he looked like the oldest and with that Jounin vest, he was undoubtedly the instructor of this squad – could one really call this group of strange individuals a squad?

"Welcome!" He boomed with a vast amount of enthusiasm, pumping his fist in the air before striking that same embarrassing pose he had first greeted you with – another _**Ping!**_. "My name is Maito Gai! And I am your new sensei!"

That confirmed it: this weird person standing before you was your sensei…  
"Oh really?"

"Hai!"

Anime tears poured out of your eyes; you were hoping it was some sort of crude trick or another form of your nightmare but it was indeed true: Maito Gai was your sensei with all his… Gai-ness.

"Come!" Gai-sensei exclaimed once more, turning on the spot and pointing to a semi-oval of wooden benches. "We must introduce ourselves to our newest youthful teammate!"

_Youthful…?_ You thought, gingerly taking a seat. The smaller version of Gai-sensei took a seat on your right, sending you another bright smile – you seriously had to ask him what kind of toothpaste he used. The panda-like girl took a seat on your left side but didn't acknowledge it as she was preoccupied with pestering the Hyuuga boy who took the only remaining seat beside her: this gave you an uncomfortable feeling of extreme fan girl-ism.

Gai-sensei stood before the four Genin and pointed to his double, instructing him to introduce himself to you.

He nodded enthusiastically. "My name is Rock Lee and I specialize in Taijutsu for I cannot mold my chakra for the use of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu!" You stared at him, amazed: this was the first time you ever heard of a person unable to mold their own chakra. Lee took notice of this and gave you another thumbs up and shiny smile. "My dream is to become a great ninja with only the use of Taijutsu!"

Another scoff rang through the air; you looked to your left to see the Hyuuga smirking cruelly at this declaration. On your right, Lee fumed with determination, sending minor glares to the Hyuuga: you deduced they had some sort of rivalry going on – though the Hyuuga didn't seem as spirited about it as Lee was.

Gai-sensei nodded and gestured for the panda girl to speak.

"My name is Tenten and I specialize in weapons." Tenten began with a small smile. She seemed pleasant enough… "My dream is to become a strong ninja and obtain acknowledgement from the one I desire…" She trailed off dreamily, shooting a not-so subtle glance at the Hyuuga.

He seemed less than interested though, as he spoke up in a monotone voice before Gai-sensei motioned him too.  
"My name is Hyuuga Neji and I specialize in numerous aspects of Taijutsu. My dream concerns no one present." He finished with a cold look directed at you before closing his pale eyes, crossing his arms, and leaning back against the bench.

You glared at him: he was trying to act so cool! What, with leaning back with cool indifference and giving out such little information: he was probably familiar with James Bond. Psht! Next thing you know, he'll be swaggering all over the place with girls hanging on either side!  
Hardly five minutes and you already despised his guts; it was like his ego just radiated out of his body: that air of superiority and that haughty scoff as Lee declared his wishful dream made you want to just wipe that idiotic smirk off his face…

_Why that son of a…!_

He was smirking at you! How dare he smirk at you like that?! Has he no manners?! Oh he thinks he's so amazing, doesn't he?

_Why I ought to -!_

"Rukia-san, it's your turn!" Gai-sensei shouted, striking that same disturbing pose.

You gave a slow, jagged nod before clearing your throat and introducing yourself. "Uh, my name is Uzumaki Rukia and, uh, I specialize in…" You screwed your face up and scrunched your nose a moment before shrugging it off. "Well, I don't really know what I specialize in."

Scoff.

Glare.

"My dream!" You pressed rather forcefully, tearing your gaze away from Neji. "My dream…" You internally smirked, "concerns no one present." You uttered coolly, mimicking Neji's posture and indifference.

You opened your eyes just a slither to glance at Neji: his expression was blank but it was obvious he was rather offended by your imitation as his vacuous blinking subsided into an irritated glare.  
As early as this may seem, you had officially formed an annoy/hate relationship between yourself and this Hyuuga. As bromide as this may seem, it was, evidently, true hate at first sight. As common as this may seem, a tiny flicker of rivalry formed, extending from your determination to his indifference. But no matter how usual these situations and feelings appear in different stories, this was different; it was an eternal dislike – for hate is too strong of a word for your use currently. But whether it was dislike or hate didn't matter, this person, sitting like a righteous King on a second class wooden bench, as though the entire world was beneath him, like you were a glob of gum scraped painfully off the sole of his ninja sandals – no, in his eyes, you were just the pieces of dirt stuck to that chewed and haphazardly discarded piece of gun –, this person, no matter what he or others thought, was no different than the population of villagers hustling and bustling about with their daily routines, and at the same time, subconsciously planning how to torture those two twins further, hoping to drive them to suicide; was no different than the ninja risking their lives to protect this village by fighting off the enemy and forcing the two menaces to society into hiding through cruel and unusual 'accidents'; was no different than anyone else.  
Hyuuga Neji was nothing special; plain and simple.

Seems a bit cruel, no?

Maybe; but to judge you at first sight; it that not crueler?  
With such a first impression, you weren't even going to bother to pretend that he might like you once he got to know the real you; he doesn't even deserve that. You weren't going to get your hopes high, only to have them crushed once more when he acts like, to be blunt, an asshole; again, he doesn't even deserve that.

"Are you familiar with training ground thirteen?" Gai-sensei addressed you with his seemingly usual enthusiasm – which should be understood as **over**-enthusiasm in the case of normal people. You had barely nodded – your head moved hardly a centimeter – before Gai-sensei spun on his heel and pointed southward. "Then you all shall meet me there post haste!" And with that, his green figure blurred a millisecond before disappearing completely.

A silence ensued rather uncomfortably at the absence of such a loud individual. You turned to your right to see a vacant seat where Gai-sensei's mini me had once resigned in. A look of shocked confusion passed over your face, your forehead wrinkled into a frown; Lee was no where to be seen and you had heard no sound and felt no movement of his departure. This only led to two possible deductions: he was skilled in the essential ninja art of stealth or you weren't observant enough – your bias intuition leaned on the former.

A shift in movement to your left caused you to turn your head: Hyuuga Neji rose from his seat and strode to the edge of the roof and poised to jump – a part of you hoped he did the world… well, you a favor and jumped. You widened your eyes upon seeing him do just that: he pushed himself off the edge and fell downward.

Surprised, you slammed your body against the metal railing and looked below, expecting to see the bloodied body of Hyuuga Neji sprawled out on the dirt with a circle of crying bystanders surrounding him. You were very off.

Neji, unharmed and fully erect, gazed up at you with a raised eyebrow, mouthing the word "loser" before turning his back to you and walking away.

All shock left your body so as to be replaced by utter anger; how dare he?! He was, one, trying to act cool again and two, he called you a loser! And he smirked again! Why does he have to smirk like that, huh?! Like he's so much better than the rest of the world? He probably thinks he's the best thing since instant ramen! Well, he's not!  
He is _**so**_ obviously familiar with James Bond…!

"Eh… what are you doing?"

You snapped back to reality to find yourself in a very interesting position: your legs were resting on the bottom rod of the metal railing with your hands clenched tightly around the handrail; your body was hoisted up, as though poised for a jump – though, unlike Neji's, this one looked more suicidal. You looked at Neji's walking figure, with his hands shoved nonchalantly into his pockets and his shoulders thrown back, and glared. "If I throw myself at the right angle, I can body slam Neji-teme."

"Don't call him that!" Tenten hissed from behind you.

You jumped off the railings and turned to her. "Why not? He acts like a teme anyways!"

"No he doesn't!" Tenten defended, glaring at you with fierce hatred. "He just doesn't act nice to people he doesn't like!"

"And that includes the entire world, right?" You retorted, casually examining your finger nails. _I need to cut these soon…_

"- like many people- Are you even listening to me?!"

"Wha'?" You uttered, scrunching your face.

Tenten let out an exasperated sigh before glaring at you with her angered brown eyes. "You have such a short attention span! You're such a failure!"

You snapped your head and returned her glare, full force. "Labeling me too?! You and Neji-teme were probably made for each other!"

"Neji-kun already labeled you a failure?" She snickered at you. "Wow, that's the fastest he's ever marked a person; you really **must** be a loser then!" She flicked her hand dismissively and walked briskly passed you. Tenten jumped off the roof and, seconds later of hoping, she could be seen and heard running after the one she "desires".

You sighed; your hopes had been let down again. Oh well…  
A brief silence followed as you remained stationary, thinking and doing absolutely nothing; but you couldn't help but feel you were missing something important… Something you were supposed to do…

_Hmm…_ You contemplated what exactly you had forgotten. Could it have been the iron at the bottom of the stairs, left on for no apparent reason? Could it have been the ramen coupons you might have forgotten at home (you patted your pocket; they were there). Could it have been…?

Wait, hadn't Gai-sensei said…

_Oh shit!_

You hastily jumped off the roof (quite unluckily actually, as your ankle had twisted slightly but painfully as you landed) and ran towards a mesh of houses, jumping to their roofs in an attempt to make up for lost time. Not even one o'clock and the day already started out this bad.

_Damn…_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	5. Chapter 5

Curiously, does anyone think I should abandon this second person writing style and adopt a new one? First person? Never tried that. Or what about third person? I'm pretty good with that. Or should I just let continue on like this? Let me know, please.

XoXoMaya-chanXoXo

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~  
Chapter 5: The Chase

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm sorry I'm late!" You wheezed out between pants. Your body bent forward from your middle and your hands rested on your knees as sweat dripped from your face: you didn't realize how long it would take to get to training ground thirteen.

Training Ground #13: a lush, green clearing surrounded by trees and the occasional flower that hadn't already been stepped on from extensive training. To one side, multiple thick training logs stuck up from the ground. White long rectangular cloth covered the logs with a dull turquoise support bracer latched on; from the markings and faded blood splats, they were used on a regular basis for a very long time. To the other side was a large patch of sandy dirt, untouched by the grass. There were many engravings from what you could only guess as feet and hands on the hard dirt, numerous little holes from kunai and shuriken, and patches of depressions, making the ground unlevel in some areas; all of this signified that, like the training logs, this sparring field was used quite often.  
From the looks of it, training ground thirteen was the usual meeting ground of your team.

"It's okay, Rukia-san!" Gai-sensei exclaimed, striking a 'good guy' pose. He dropped this stance but continued to smile. "Let us give our youthful teammate time to recover."

But he needn't have bothered to waste his breath: after a couple of deep wheezes and pants, you evened your breath and straightened your body, folding your arms over your chest and waiting to hear whatever Gai-sensei had to say.

Gai-sensei hid his surprise with another blinding smile. "Your strengths seem to include stamina, Rukia-san."

"Just Rukia is fine." You muttered, wincing at the honorific.

"Hai." Gai-sensei replied absentmindedly. He straightened and addressed you directly. "Though you have passed the Academy's Genin exams, you must pass a test of my own."

You stared at this man incredulously. "Why?" You whined, furrowing your eyebrows and sensing the worst.

"For multiple reasons, Rukia." Gai-sensei began, striking a 'thinking' pose. His right arm broke out of the stance to hold up a single finger, "One: this test will help me conceive an idea of your strengths and weakness, thus allowing me to come up with an appropriate training regimen." He held up another finger before continuing, "Two: the test itself will be training for your body and possibly your mind; improving both in the process." He held up a third, "Third: I must find out your level of youthfulness!" He completely broke his 'thinking' pose to strike a 'good guy' pose.

You stared at him, taking in the information little by little. If this test was like training, all you had to do is try your best and work harder if something goes wrong. The reasons, excluding the third, made sense to you; a proper training regimen was exactly what you needed and this test was like a training session, so your body would get a good work out. But what did he mean by mind?  
You opened your mouth to voice that question but another spilled out. "What happens if I fail?" This question floated in your mind as soon as the words "test" passed Gai-sensei's lips.

Gai-sensei lowered his thumbs up but retained his oh-so pearly smile - possibly Colgate. "Then you shall be sent back to the Academy."

You looked at him disbelievingly. He would send you back to the Academy? But why?

As if he heard your unvoiced question, Gai-sensei explained further. "Children cannot advance to the rank of Genin so easily. If this were so, the number of Konoha ninja would rise dramatically. Instead, the graduates would have an instructor test them to see if they have enough skill to truly deserve the title of ninja." He struck an embarrassing pose before continuing. "As your youthful instructor, it is up to me to test your skills to determine if you have what it takes to become a ninja and remain on my team of fiery, youthful ninja!"

Your mind was in turmoil: this test would determine whether or not you could stay a ninja. In this case, what use was the Genin test back at the Academy? Was that just a formality? Did that really mean nothing?  
A small growl of disapproval sounded in your throat but Gai-sensei acted like he hadn't heard a thing.

"When do I start the test then?" You asked, blinking a few times and uncrossing your arms, still disgruntled. "When do I start?"

"Hmm…" Gai-sensei sounded, closing his eyes and cupping his chin with one hand and placing the other on his hip: 'thinking' pose version 1.5.  
He playful smile - the most normal smile you had ever seen on this guy - curled on his lips as his eyes opened just a slither. "Now."

A sudden flash of beige blocked your curious view of Gai-sensei; within milliseconds, you felt warm fingers brush against you forehead, tugging on something, before disappearing.

You stood rooted to your spot, trying to register what just happened: something beige, something cold, and something tugging on your…  
"My headband!" You gasped, clapping your hands over your bare forehead. "Where's my headband?!"

Neji glared down at you from a low tree branch, watching your motions with cold eyes and a venomous sting penetrating his very being. You were frantically covering your forehead as if ashamed of something; this movement was much to Neji's loathing. He continued to glare down at you until you finally realized his gaze on you.

You turn your body and tilt your head back with your hands still covering your forehead, looking up at Neji's eyes. _Why's he glaring at me now? _You thought distractedly as Neji's eyes narrowed. _What have I done?_  
But all questions ceased when you saw what he was casually tossing up and down in his hand as he leaned against the bole of a tree: your black headband.

Your eyes widened as Neji, with one last glare and smirk, took off at high speed away from the training ground… **with your headband!**

"G-Gai-sensei!" You exclaimed, staring at him with widened eyes. "He took my headband!"

"Did he now…?" Gai-sensei muttered, retaining the stance he had before Neji stole your most prized possession - besides your ramen coupons. In fact, Gai-sensei was acting like nothing serious had taken place, which irked you. You pressed again on this subject but Gai-sensei continued to act nonchalantly. "You have until sundown before Neji is to destroy your headband."

"What?!" You screamed, eyes literally bulging out of their sockets. "H-he can't!"

"You're wasting time, Rukia. I've already instructed Neji to destroy it if you cannot retrieve your headband by sundown and he has agreed that he'll do it."

You shook on the spot, torn between thrashing Gai-sensei around for this and chasing after Neji in a mad dash. Eventually, you settling for the latter but you promised yourself to get Gai-sensei back for this.

As you dashed from tree to tree, you focused your entire concentration on locating the long-haired Genin. The surroundings turned into a green blur but suddenly, as you leapt haphazardly off a gnarled tree branch, the green was broken into an array of lively colors; you were back in the hustle and bustle of the village streets. And there, clear as the blue, cloudless sky above you, standing with his back to you but his face turned casually and his highly infuriating smirk once again on his lips, was Hyuuga Neji; his hands were still tightly clasped around the metal of your headband.

He spotted you with his ever watchful eagle eyes and without prior warning, bolted across rooftops with your headband still in hand.

A low growl sounded from your throat as you pursued him with mad abandon. Your feet thumped against the rooftops; the loud thumping sound caused many to stare up in shock and confusion. Your blue eyes narrowed in annoyance as the Hyuuga swerved quickly and swiftly to the left. You angled your body to follow but were intercepted rather painfully; in your blind haste, you were completely oblivious to the chimney protruding out of a roof, which resulted in a headlong collision. Alas, embarrassment seemed to have fallen in love with you.

You picked yourself off the ground and placing a hand on the wall of the brick chimney, you took deep breaths and steadied yourself.

A quiet laugh issued from somewhere not far from where you were standing; looking to your left, you saw Neji standing casually with his arms folded.

"As I suspected: you're not a very good ninja." He uttered loud enough for you to hear. "It makes me wonder why they ever let someone like you pass."

You growled once more, narrowing your eyes. Hate was starting to sound like too soft of a word now.  
"Give me back my headband!"

"I'm sure Gai-sensei informed you that if your want it…" He turned around. "You have to come and steal it." He dashed away.

But this time, without any hesitation, you were pursuing him once again.

And so, this was how it went for hours: Neji would occasionally halt when your body collided into something hard, insult you for a few good moments before departing once more. This cycle was getting tedious as you resumed your pursuit after your ninth collision. Normally you weren't this clumsy and ungraceful, but with the looming possibility of your prized possession destroyed, especially by the hands of this idiotically long-haired man-girl, made you feel very uneasy and anxious, resulting in your ungainly falls.

You growled for the umpteenth time this day, glancing at the traitorous sun as it slowly drifted down. Time was running out. You had to retrieve your headband and fast. But how?

Currently, Neji was out of sight. He had sprinted away after your last collision, leaving you standing there, frantically concocting a suitable plan. You, somehow, needed to ambush the little rascal; catch him off guard and snatch back your headband – and preferably give him a well-deserved beating! But how could you manage to ambush someone like him? You would have to spring attacks from several different directions…

_Aha…!_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_I don't even have to use Byakugan with this girl…_

Neji sat atop a water tower with one leg bent inwards, the sole of that foot pressed against the cold mental of the tower, and his other hanging off the edge; one arm resting on his knee, his hand still clasped on the metal of you headband, whilst his other arm and hand supported his body; Neji was relaxed but extremely bored: he wanted the sun to set completely so he could destroy that worthless failure's headband and start his real training.

The Hyuuga teen almost snorted as he recalled Gai-sensei's words:

"… _In short: lead her on a chase around Konoha, using her headband as bait, until sunset; after that, you are free to destroy Uzumaki Rukia's headband however you please."_

"_Do I really destroy it?"_

"_If you must, but I doubt it will be necessary; Uzumaki Rukia is not a pushover; do not underestimate her, Neji. She has the fire of youth shining brightly in her! So brightly, it may rival Lee's: with luminosity to guide; strength to spifflicate; heat to incinerate; beauty to becharm; and youth that outshines even the youngest youth of all of youthful Konoha!"_

"_I see… But what exactly does the last part mean?"_

_Doubt all you will, Gai-sensei,_ Neji thought, turning his blank gaze to the evening sky, the nearly setting sun begilding the blue with its igneous golden hue. _This headband will be destroyed and Uzumaki Rukia will not advance…_  
"Facile baka. I can sense your Chakra effortlessly."

"I don't know what the hell 'facile' means, but you'll regret calling me baka, teme!"

A change in your demeanor, a relaxed composure, determination glowing azure in your eyes; Neji noted carefully these alterations with a perceptive eye: you had something planned.  
Curiosity captured his attention, unseen but that of a minutely displayed tilt of the head. Much was not expected from the woman before him, but a strange, a foreign interest caught hold of him: what could a baka like you possibly come up with?

And so, his interest and curiosity were slowly being satisfied; you lunged at him, full force.

"Hmph." Neji pushed his body swiftly off the silver surface of the water tower, his entire frame blurred into the amber backdrop for a mere split-second before refocusing on a nearby rooftop. He raised an eyebrow, glancing at the four shuriken whose sharp ends were embedded in the metallic of the tower; his eyes drifted to your figure once again, but before your physiognomy could be analyzed fully, you lunged once for, though more fiercely.

_Her fighting style hasn't changed; still too offensive and unreflective.  
_Neji jumped back onto the dirt road of Konoha and darted east; you followed him closely, throwing kunai and shuriken, each of which missed their target.

_What is she trying to achieve?_ Neji questioned himself. Your offensive continued, never decreasing in the slightest, rather increasing on occasion. The sun was nearly setting; was this just a last minute desperate attempt to retrieve your headband? Neji could only assume so.

Leaving the road, Neji jumped onto the branches of the mesh of trees he approached and disappeared, for only an instant, from your view. You jumped in immediately after him, throwing three shuriken in his direction, which changed with the skillful dodge and a sideways lunge. Too late to remain on the bough, you spun mid-jump and used your feet to rocket yourself off the nearest tree trunk in Neji's direction. He glanced back, aware of the sudden increase in speed. With the use of the initial force, you propelled yourself off the branches, gaining on Neji, though slowly, but effectively. But catching up to him wasn't needed.

_Almost there! Time; work in my favor for once!_  
A small sliver of light shone ahead of both Genin; they were both approaching a clearing. Your head cocked up at the sight of it; it was almost time. _Just a little closer… Come on…_  
The tiny sliver grew proportionately, emitting the bright golden light of the setting sun. The intensity of the glow threw itself on Neji's pupil-less eyes, blinding him.

"Now!"

The drops of liquid; the respective handseals; the molding of chakra; the splash of water.  
Several dark, blurred figures rose from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere; two hurtled their bodies forcefully against the temporarily blinded Genin, knocking both him and themselves through the aperture and onto the clearing ground before dropping instantly into a small puddle of water. But not even a instant passed before Neji was sent hurtling towards the solitary cherry blossom tree standing stately a few feet away, the only element blockading the young Genin from a 40 foot fall into the flowery field below. Neji's back collided with the smooth bark of the tree, the tiny protrusions catching a few threads of his jacket. His body barely made contact with the uprooted rootage below him; six strung shuriken were shot passed him, wrapping themselves tautly around the trunk of the tree and Neji's disorientated body, pulling both together with a tight bond and thus effectively holding him in place.

_Damn…_ Neji swore, glancing at the shuriken on either side of him: embedded so deeply, as if the sharpened blades clung to the inner walls of the sakura tree with the same determination that contorted the foolish girl's eyes with resolution and confidence. _How could I have possibly let this come to be?_

"Tut, tut." You clicked your tongue twice, approaching Neji with slight caution. Faintly heard was the soft splashing of water beneath the soles of your feet. Once reached, you kneeled down and reached for your headband which was tucked away securely in Neji's pocket. "You underestimated me. You shouldn't have done that, teme."

"Don't call me teme." Neji retorted, turning his head away from you. He was angry and ashamed; how could he let his guard down and allow her to take charge? If he had used Byakugan, this could have been avoided but no, Neji had gotten too cocky and indeed, had underestimated his opponent. But that didn't change one fact though…

"Ah!" You exclaimed, rubbing the tip of your index finger against the metal of your headband: the feel of it once again excited the nerves of your entire body and swelled your heart, fear slowly ebbing away. You had honestly thought that your headband, the especial headband Iruka-sensei had bought specifically for you, that had once belonged to your idol, Hayate Rukia, would be destroyed.  
Confidence betrayed you; anger blinded you; desperation failed you; but determination, resolve, and some good, old Uzumaki-ingenuity aided you and led to your victory. But was it worth the price?

You looked up at the great sakura tree standing magnificently before you; Neji soon followed suit. His eyes widened ever so slightly.

Fire was thought of instinctively when one gazed upon the aged cherry blossom tree. The fiery, setting sun shone its light through the thin, white petals, making the entire tree look ablaze. The red glow emanated and surrounded the tree in its entirety; it was exciting, stimulating, and yet, comforting and relaxing. It was your safe haven; your sanctuary.

"Never come here again…" You muttered, your eyes once again captivated by the entrancing glow of Hi-no-ki*.

"I don't plan to." Unlike yourself, Neji was not easily captivated by anything. But deep in side, he was taken by the beauty of the tree he was currently trapped against. "Now let go!"

You smiled playfully. "No!"

"Baka…" Neji growled.

"Teme…" You imitated.

"Hmph!"

"You're such a baby!" You laughed, clutching your stomach with one hand and pointing at him with the other.

Neji glared. The mockery experienced by someone like you was humiliating.  
"Just let me go!"

"No~!"

"Hmph!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hi-no-ki: Tree of Fire; name given by Uzumaki Rukia


	6. Chapter 6

**Maya's note: **I expect that no one will really notice this next chapter, since I've been dead for the past year or so. However, I am back and re-motivated! I hope you enjoy this!

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~  
Chapter 6: Pretty Pink Petals

"What are we doing today?" You asked curiously. Last night, Gai-sensei had appeared in front of your window rather suddenly. Poor Naruto was looking for his kunai sharpener in your room when this happened and fainted at the sight of the strange, green man. Walking in a few moments later, you prevented Gai-sensei from performing mouth-to-mouth with your unconscious brother. Gai-sensei quickly explained that he wanted you to come to Training Ground 13 at dawn because "you have a wonderfully youthful day of training ahead of yourself!" Then he bowed and quickly left. Suffice to say, when Naruto came around, he would not believe that man was your sensei.

"Beginning your training." Gai-sensei answered for the third time so far, vague as ever. There was a small twinkle in his eye.

"But what _is_ my training?" You asked impatiently. Getting up at dawn was a big deal for you. The training had better be worth it. _Maybe it's a killer taijutsu move. Or wicked awesome ninjutsu!_ You could barely hold in your excitement.

"Patience is important for all ninja, Rukia-chan." The twinkle seemed to become brighter.

"Hai, hai…" Disappointed, you hung your head.

Sitting in the middle of Training Ground 13, you darted your eyes everywhere, trying to find something entertaining. To the side, underneath the cool shadow of a tall tree, sat Neji, meditating. He was there before you arrived, eyes closed and hands forming a rectangle. He hadn't moved at all since you arrived. It was almost unnerving how still he was. Almost like a statue…

"Why did you throw a rock at me?" Neji snapped, a vein popping ever so slightly on his forehead.

"I wanted to see if you'd move." You grinned fox-like, fingering another rock.

Neji looked at you with dead eyes, a small bruise forming on his temple. "It's rude to interrupt someone who is meditating. Please review your manners."

"It's also rude to be a teme, but that doesn't stop you." You retorted childishly, picking up another rock as discreetly as possible.

"Don't you dare." Obviously not discreetly enough.

"Enough chatter!" Gai-sensei yelled, puffing his chest into the air as TenTen and Lee entered the training grounds together. "Now we must commence training!"

TenTen sighed tiredly, turning her gaze towards Neji. She quickly became worried. Whenever Neji meditated, TenTen recalled, he would be in his calmest and most peaceful state of mind. However, right now, that wasn't the case. Neji looked annoyed. TenTen glanced at you darkly. What had you done to annoy him?

You sensed TenTen's glare but you brushed it off. Her aura wasn't nearly as dark as some you had experienced. Instead, you watched Gai-sensei and Lee do a strange series of warm up poses. Lee mimicked his sensei perfectly, a look of pure concentration on his face. You smiled at him.

Gai-sensei relaxed his body from a rather difficult pose and spoke calmly. "Neji. TenTen. Lee. Run fifty laps around Konoha."

"Hai!" All three genin disappeared from sight.

You turned to Gai-sensei, excitement written all over your face. "We'll be starting my training now, right?"

"Of course Rukia-chan! Please follow me!"

* * *

You had been to many parts of Konoha, poor, affluent, and everything in between. Sometimes, Iruka-sensei would say that no one knew the nooks and crannies of Konoha better than the Uzumaki twins. However, the path to your special training was unfamiliar to you. At first, you recognized a couple of trees you and Naruto had used to practice kunai- and shuriken-throwing as well as a park that was the site of many childhood pranks. After a while, though, the trees began to cluster around a barely noticeable dirt path. Following this dirt path as it wound between the trees, you had wondered whether Gai-sensei actually knew where he was going. Then suddenly, the trees just stopped and up ahead, was a pointed cliff.

"Are we there?"

"Almost." Gai-sensei replied with a smile. "Look down."

You approached the edge of the cliff and peered down. A sea of pink greeted your eyes. It was as though a higher being wove a soft pink blanket and tucked the valley in for bed. Marvelling at its beauty, you suddenly felt serene and peaceful. All worries, memories, and fears melted away and for the first time in a very long time, happiness was the only emotion in your heart.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gai-sensei muttered to no one in particular.

"Mmm." Your head was drained of all coherent thought. Nothing mattered except for this happiness. This recovery.

"They're called hounen flowers. Konoha medics grow and harvest these special flowers for therapeutic treatments. They have a distinct property that relaxes muscles and clears minds."

"Mmm." You tried to remember why you were here in the first place. "Weren't we… I… training… right?"

"Ah, yes, Rukia-chan! For your training, I'm giving you one task." Gai-sensei gave you a thumbs-up, that twinkle returning to his eyes, brighter than before. "Sort every single flower petal into piles based on color."

You perked up. "But… they're all pink."

Gai-sensei nodded thoughtfully. "There are three different shades of pink present in the valley."

"S-shades?" You gasped. "But… they all look the same! And there's so many!"

"This is the beginning of your training, Rukia-chan!" Gai-sensei declared dramatically, ignoring your protests. "Work hard!"

And with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving you alone with a valley of pink petals. After taking a deep breath, you found a path into the valley and descended. The sea of pink looked a lot bigger with the prospect of picking each petal and sorting it. _How the heck am I supposed to do this?_

You bent down and picked up a flower, gently plucking off a soft petal.

* * *

"I'm done!" You huffed, three hours later. After getting lost a couple times trying to make it back to Training Ground 13, you finally arrived, red-faced but happy. It took forever, but you finally completed the ridiculous task Gai-sensei had assigned. Useless it may have been, but you were still very proud of your accomplishment. Without acknowledging your teammates, you urged Gai-sensei to go back to the valley. He had to see it.

"You did it wrong." Neji stated, not even taking his eyes off the taijutsu practice dummy.

You ignored him and continued to beg Gai-sensei to hurry. Eventually, he did. He gave a set of commands to your teammates then led the way to the valley. You bounced up and down, excitement fueling your every move. _This will be awesome!_ You thought happily.

"You did it wrong." Gai-sensei said, looking at your messy piles. "And there is a fourth pile. There should be only three."

"Well… the wind blew some of my petals into that pile over there and I didn't want to separate them again." You grinned sheepishly before realizing what he had said. "I did it… wrong…? WHAT?"

"The hues are mixed up." Gai-sensei stated as your eye twitched. "And when I give you an order, Rukia-chan, you must obey it. Three piles, not four."

Again, in a puff of smoke, Gai-sensei left you dumbfounded.

"I have… to start again…?" You muttered to yourself in disbelief. You growled.

Kicking the piles of petals was a good way to take out your anger, although it spread the petals everywhere. You pushed the petals aside and began categorizing them again. You picked up a petal and held it close to your eyes. "Light pink."

You set it down as the beginning of the "light pink" pile. Another petal. "Lighter pink."

Another petal. "Dark pink."

Another petal. "Darker pink."

Another petal. "Regular pink."

You paused.

_THAT'S FIVE!_

* * *

For what seemed like the 136th time, you ran back to Gai-sensei to tell him to judge your pink petal piles, though in reality it was only the 4th time. Each time, Neji would tell you that you did it wrong and you would ignore him. And each time, Gai-sensei would also tell you that you did it wrong and you would restart. This time, however, you were sure you did it right. You checked the piles several times before running back. You even made sure that there were only three piles. It had to be right this time.

Neji's God-complex predicted your failure yet again. You ignored him yet again.

And like clockwork, Gai-sensei agreed with Neji, though only **after** inspecting your work.

You let out a loud cry and kicked the petals until there were no traces of any piles whatsoever. This time, the kicking didn't relieve you of the mounting frustration. You turned to Gai-sensei, enraged.

"What kind of training is this?" You yelled, balling you fists. "This isn't useful! All I'm doing is sorting petals! They're pink! Who cares about hues or shades or whatever! They. Are. Pink."

Gai-sensei was unfazed. "There is a reason for this exercise, Rukia-chan."

You laughed in his face. "Only if the reason is pure stupidity! I'm done with this! Find me when you want to start real training!" You turned and bolted off into an unknown direction, tears of anger blurring your vision.

Gai-sensei looked at your retreating form thoughtfully. Maybe he should have explained why he made you sort the petals. _Hmm…_  
He followed you.

You ran and ran. You didn't know where you were going but you didn't care. All you knew was that you had to get away from that awful valley. And from anything even remotely pink. The color sickened you.

You felt like Gai-sensei was holding you back. First he nearly got your precious headband destroyed and now he was wasting your time with sorting petals. How were you supposed to become Kirakage with this type of progress? You were convinced you wouldn't be able to. You wouldn't become Kirakage and everyone would continue to hate you. You wanted to change it… You had to change it…

You came to a sudden stop. Looking around for the first time, you realized that it was past noon. Lunch time had come and gone, without leaving you any food to enjoy. Your stomach growled, as if it just became aware of how famished you were. You needed food. Fast.

Before you could even move, a hand firmly grabbed your shoulder. You craned your neck to see Gai-sensei smiling down at you with that same cheesy grin of his. Feelings of anger and guilt passed through you but you just stood there and looked at him.

"Let's go eat. It's on me." He said these words happily, but something about his tone made you believe that he wanted to talk too. He pushed you gently towards the door of a nearby restaurant named Katsu. You resisted.

"No," was all you could manage to say.

"I know you're hungry, Rukia-chan! Don't deny it!" Gai-sensei joked, chuckling.

"No…" Your whisper was desperate.

Gai-sensei pushed you into the small restaurant. It was dark and empty inside. The walls and ceiling were painted black with many lighting fixtures making it glow. Separated booths lined the walls. There was a high counter at the back of the restaurant with several stools scattered about. Gai-sensei dragged two stools together and forced you to sit on one.

You shifted uncomfortably, casting your long bangs over your eyes. Maybe if you hid yourself a bit, the owner wouldn't know…

The owner of the restaurant emerged from the kitchen door. Katsu Aki was a short, stout man with a balding head. He had a wild, grey beard that he tamed using a black elastic band. He donned a standard chef's suit. With a smile, like the one he had at the sight of customers, Aki looked jolly and kind. With a deep frown, like the one he had when he noticed that one of the customers was Uzumaki Rukia, he looked threatening and irritated.

"Sorry. We're closed." He said gruffly, turning on his heel and heading back into the kitchen.

Though you never knew why, you did know this would happen. No one wanted you or Naruto on their premises. The only places that tolerated you both were the Ichiraku Ramen shop and the local grocery. Even then, the people in those places would send you both glares and harsh words. And more often than not, you or Naruto would somehow get hurt, whether it was a box filled with tomatoes falling on Naruto or a twisted ankle when someone 'forgot' to place the wet floor sign and you tripped.

You tried to look at the bright side. At least he didn't try to impale you with a chopstick. "Let's go, Gai-sensei. Please."

Gai-sensei could see the desperation in your eyes. He understood why you didn't want to enter the restaurant in the first place. He knew it was because of the Jubii, the ten-tailed fox demon sealed inside of you. Gai-sensei remembered the attack. The Kyubii appeared a few kilometers from Konoha. Every high ranked ninja was called to duty to hold off the beast. Lives were lost, but the Kyubii was kept away from the city. Things began looking up.

Then the Jubii appeared.

The Fourth Hokage had to call every available ninja to battle, even genin. Gai remembered facing the Jubii fresh out of the Academy. There were too many casualties to count. Young Maito Gai's entire team had been wiped out that day, right in front of him. He too would have disappeared from this world had it not been for the Fourth Hokage who pulled him out of the way of the Jubii's tail swipe. The Fourth sent him and all the other ninja away, to get treatment, to recover, and to mourn. When morning had come, both demons were gone and the Fourth Hokage, along with his wife, were declared dead. A service was held to award them and every ninja who died that day with Konoha's Golden Leaf of Service posthumously. Gai was given time to pull himself together before he was put into another squad with another sensei. He never forgot what was sacrificed to end the terror.

"No, Rukia-chan." Gai-sensei was determined. He called out to Aki. "We are not only paying customers, but we are also Konoha ninja. We serve to protect you and this fine establishment. Please serve us with your delicious food."

Aki was caught off-guard. He stuttered. "W-w-well… w-when you p-p-put it like th-th-tha-at…"

"Thank you." Gai-sensei was happy. He turned to you. "What would you like?"

"R-ramen, please… Miso…" You muttered, shocked. Gai-sensei stood up for you. Normally, people would just watch, if they weren't taking part themselves. Only Iruka-sensei had ever tried to console you. But Gai-sensei… Any remnants of anger in your heart quickly vanished. Only guilt remained.

"Two bowls of miso ramen."

"H-hai." Aki shuffled back into the kitchen.

"Rukia-chan. You must never allow anyone to treat you that way." You looked at him. The sincere look in his eyes made your heart swell. He truly cared. "A kunoichi must be demand respect and fair treatment. Tolerate nothing less."

"Hai." You mumbled.

"Now, my youthful flower, let us discuss your youthful training!" The old Gai-sensei was back. His bug-eyes were on fire. "Do you know why I'm making you sort the petals, Rukia-chan?"

You shifted on the stool. "Not really… It just seemed like a waste of time."

Gai-sensei held up a finger. "That's because I'm trying to teach you what you have shown you lack. Patience."

"Why would I need to learn patience?" Iruka-sensei sometimes mentioned patience as a virtue in class (when you were paying attention), but he never gave us patience-building assignments or exercises.

Gai-sensei's mouth dropped dramatically. "Rukia-chan!" The fire in his eyes burned fiercely. "Patience can determine whether a ninja will continue his youthful life or die a very unyouthful death! It is better to hide in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to show off your youthful fire, than to charge head-on."

You nodded, taking in every word. "So… sorting those flowers could save my life?"

"Not only save your life, Rukia-chan, but also get you closer to your dream."

Aki arrived and placed two bowls of steaming miso ramen in front of you and Gai-sensei. He collected the bill, sent you both a short nod, and then hurried back into the kitchen.

"You care about my dream?" You had to ask. You had to know.

Gai-sensei broke his chopsticks with a shiny grin. "Of course, I do, Rukia-chan. You are my student. It is my job to help you achieve your goal."

You smiled at your miso ramen. "So was it just patience?"

"No. Being able to distinguish the different shades of pink would make you more observant."

"Which could also save my life?"

"Exactly." Shiny grin.

Mustering up everything you had, you sent Gai-sensei your shiniest grin. He laughed.

The rest of the meal was fun. Gai-sensei was a funny guy. He knew how to crack jokes and he appreciated your sense of humor. He particularly liked it when you imitated the Third Hokage. Though you had been uncertain of him at first, you now accepted that Gai-sensei was the best possible teacher for you.

"Gai-sensei?"

"Hai?"

"You are my youthful sensei!"

"Aaaah! Rukia-chan! You have made me very happy, my youthful student!"

* * *

The sun was setting on Training Ground 13. Neji had practiced all of his taijutsu moves. TenTen finished her morningstar training. Lee perfected his latest Leaf combo. It had been a very productive day for the three genin. And now it was coming to an end. They prepared to go home.

Lee wondered how you were handling your first training assignment. He was there each time you ran to Gai-sensei. Your face was sweaty but determined. It made Lee root for you in his heart. From the very beginning, he thought of you as a worthy teammate, adversary, and even friend. He knew he'd like you.

Lee heard the rustling in the trees and knew who it was. However, instead of rushing just to Gai-sensei, you addressed everyone.

"I did it right this time. I know it! I want everyone to see!" You grinned. Lee noticed a small sparkle in your teeth. He approved.

Despite TenTen's protests and Neji's prediction that you had once again done it wrong, Gai-sensei lead them to the cliff. Only you, Lee, and Gai-sensei descended. As your sensei inspected your neat piles, you tightly held on Lee's arm with your hands. He seemed just as anxious as you did.

"Hmm." Gai-sensei muttered. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before doing his signature nice guy pose. "Perfect!"

You, Lee, and Gai-sensei joined hands and danced around in circles, kicking up as many of those darn petals as possible. Soon, the air was filled with pretty pink petals. The joyful cries of all three of you reached TenTen and Neji.

"Wow… She did it…" TenTen said, amazed. "The only other person that was able to finish it in one day was you, Neji-kun…"

Neji said nothing. He looked at you as you sang nonsense with Lee and Gai-sensei. He had been wrong. Moreover, like TenTen just stated, you had accomplished something only he had previously achieved. Could he have underestimated you again?  
The idea was ridiculous to him. There was no underestimation. You were just another idiot with an unrealistic dream. No different from Lee. This was a fluke. A mistake. Being able to sort petals meant nothing in the greater scheme of things. Even failures sometimes win.

Neji turned around and began walking home. TenTen quickly followed, though she paused to look at you once more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Maya's note:** Hey guys~! Super fast update, right? I suppose I felt a bit sorry for leaving any of you fine readers hanging for so long. Plus I also have quite a bit of free time now, so I'm on a writing spree. Heck, I may even start the next chapter after I publish this!

This chapter includes my first attempt at writing a good fight scene, so I would definitely like some feedback. I'm hoping it was okay for a newbie~! Enjoy~!

~*~*~The Ten-Tails Keeper and The Byakugan Genius~*~*~  
Chapter 7: Challenge

"Aaaaaaaah!"

Lee stretched after a good night of sleep. Pushing one's body to the limits has always brought excellent sleep. Having someone else to work hard with him also helped. Ever since you had joined Team Gai a week ago, training had become a lot more enjoyable. Lee saw a bit of himself in you. You were a hard worker and very determined. But there was more. Not only did he like training with you, he also liked just being around you. You were funny and laid-back after practice. You also introduced him and Gai-sensei to Ichiraku Ramen. Life seemed have become a lot better after that…

A quick shower and a hearty breakfast later, Lee was off to Training Ground 13. As he walked, he recalled some of the events that took place recently. After your petal sorting success, Gai-sensei set you to a series of tasks. Some of these were menial and their purpose obscure, like ordering lunch from Katsu, finding lost pets, and doing the laundry of a 16-member family. As the end of the week drew closer, the tasks became more difficult. One day, Gai-sensei made you stand on an upright balancing log on one leg for three hours straight. If you fell off, the three hours would reset. You had quite a bit of difficulty at first. Lee stopped his own training to help you out.

"Tense your muscles," Lee had advised. "That will help prevent your body from swaying."

Lee even showed you the tree pose. "Slowly place all your weight on one foot. Raise your other foot, with your knee jutting out to the side, until the sole of your foot is resting on your upper thigh. Press your palms together just in front of your chest. There! You did it!"

The advice really helped you. You managed to stay up on the log for three and a half hours before hunger forced you down. Remembering the look on your face when Gai-sensei told you that you could have come down half an hour earlier still made Lee chuckle. It was priceless.

On another day, Gai-sensei paired you and TenTen together for training. TenTen had to send barrages of shuriken and kunai at you while you dodged each and every one. Many managed to hit you and before the day was through, you were sent to the hospital for treatment. The following day, surprising everyone, you arrived with healed wounds and renewed vigour. You have become better at dodging, but not by much. You survived until noon before you were sent to the hospital once again. This continued for two more days until yesterday. You managed to dodge almost every single projectile. A couple were embedded into your body, but the rest whizzed past, some leaving small cuts. However, you had lasted the entire day. Gai-sensei and TenTen were impressed. Neji just ignored you.

Lee sighed. Speaking of Neji, Lee noticed growing animosity between you and him. With practically every one of your achievements, came Neji's condescending taunts. It felt strange to Lee. Neji was a condescending person, but he was never this aggressive before. Something about you made Neji more antagonistic. You were never pleased with him from the very beginning either. Neji's cool confidence, borderline arrogance, sparked an instant dislike. You were always confronting and challenging him, determined to teach him his place. Neji would never take on your challenges. He called them a waste of time.

Lee was almost at Training Ground 13. He passed by a tree with a single kunai embedded into its bark. Lee remembered what had caused you to slam that kunai into the tree. You and Neji were bickering once again. He taunted your low accuracy and you challenged him to a kunai-throwing contest. Lee was nearby, watching you two argue. Unfortunately for him, he accidentally spoke aloud what was meant to be a passing thought.

"Isn't that how couplings in manga usually start?"

It was a good thing your accuracy was rather low. Lee was nearly impaled in the eye by your kunai. Instead, it hit the tree he was standing in front of. Good thing TenTen was out of earshot…

Lee arrived at the training ground and noticed something out of the ordinary. You were sitting perfectly still with your back to Lee. There were still slashes in your clothes from TenTen's weapons. Had you not gone home?

"Rukia-chan!" Lee called. "How long have you been here?"

"All night," came a sharp response.

"Really? Why?" Lee approached you, curiosity getting the better of him. He found you holding and staring rather intently at a twig in your hands. Now that was very strange.

"Gai-sensei told me to stare at a twig. Improve concentration." You narrowed your eyes. "Neji-teme said I wouldn't hold out all night."

Now it made a lot more sense. "Aaaah. I see. Well, it's dawn now, so I suppose you've finished your assignment."

You relaxed. "I guess you're right…" You turned to properly greet Lee. "Goodnight, Lee!"

He laughed. "Goodnight Rukia-chan."

You fell backwards and slept, snoring loudly.

* * *

"Should we wake her up?"

"I think so. We have to go soon."

"But she's been here all night…"

"Really? Why? I feel bad for her now…"

"Just wake her up already."

"Huh…?" You mumbled as someone gently shook you. You opened your eyes to find Lee and TenTen peering down at you. You rubbed your eyes and slowly sat up. "What's going on?"

Lee bounced with excitement. "We're going on a mission!"

You looked at him with boredom. "So? I've been doing missions all week."

Lee shook his head, but it was TenTen who explained. "We're actually leaving Konoha's gates today."

"Really?" Your eyes widened. Before anyone could move, you were on your feet, running around in circles, squealing with joy. "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Calm down." TenTen reprimanded. "First we actually have to get the mission. Gai-sensei said to go to the Hokage's office at noon. It's almost time."

"Yay!" You yelled, jumping up and down. You had never been outside Konoha's gates before. With all of your training, you began feeling like Konoha was so confining. You were craving more adventure and fun. A mission outside the Konoha gates was just what you needed!

"Calm down, baka. This isn't a joke." Neji once again had to ruin your fun.

You stopped you celebration and glared at the Hyuuga. "I stared at that twig all night. I proved that I could do it."

Neji smirked. "It's more amazing that you actually cared enough to try."

"I don't care!"

"Besides," Neji mocked, "when I arrived, you were asleep."

You pulled on your pigtails. "Lee was here! He saw me!"

"It's true, Neji-kun." Lee confirmed.

You pointed at Lee while glaring at Neji. "See? Exactly what he said."

"Hmph." Neji widened his smirk. "So what? How will staring at a twig win you the title of Kirakage?"

You narrowed your eyes at him. That was it. He questioned dreams too many times. You pulled out a kunai from your pouch and threw it at him.

Neji reacted in an instant. He leaned to the left, dodging the kunai. Shockingly enough, he sent his own kunai whizzing your way. You were caught off-guard but you managed to barely dodge it by ducking. Neji was responding. You challenged him and this time, he accepted. You smirked.

Neji activated his Byakugan and entered the Hyuuga fighting stance. You took out a kunai and raised it to chin-level with your other arm poised to the side, ready to strike if necessary. Neither of you moved. Gai-sensei had taught you that patience could save your life. He taught you that it was better to wait for the opportune moment to strike. Your eyebrows slightly furrowed. _How am I supposed to find a moment to strike when he's not moving either?_

As if sensing your confusion, Neji rushed forward to strike. By taking your thoughts away from analyzing your opponent, you unintentionally gave Neji the opportunity to attack. He lunged at you, full-force, one arm pulled back. Before he had a chance to strike, you barrel rolled to your left and sent three shuriken flying to Neji. The Hyuuga brought out a kunai instantly and deflected all three shuriken. The shuriken gave you the few seconds you needed. You took the water bottle from your hip, popped off the lid, and spilt the liquid over the floor. The droplets of water barely made contact with the ground before you formed the appropriate hand seals and summoned seven water clones.

"W-water clones?" TenTen gasped. "That technique is so advanced! How could **she** know it?"

Lee was amazed too. He had never seen a water clone before. Now there were seven in front of him. You were truly surprising.

"This again?" Neji mocked. "Don't think I'll fall for the same thing twice."

The water clones surrounded Neji, each positioned to fight. You had to stay concentrated now. Another slip like before and Neji could defeat you. Your opponent stayed still, using his Byakugan to keep track of each clone. Water clones were only impressive if you knew how to use them. A simple strike to the right place could disintegrate any clone easily.

All was still for quite a while. You were watching Neji, waiting for him to make even the smallest movement that would put him at a disadvantage. You became irritated rather quickly and resorted to a sudden flurry of attacks. All the clones surrounding Neji lunged at him, trying to land a kick or a punch or a scratch. As if anticipating their moves, Neji skillfully dodged the first clone, who then collided with another clone. Both disintegrated with a splash. A third clone came up from behind him but Neji grabbed its shoulders and back flipped. He hit the clone's spinal cord with his Gentle Fist and it vanished. Four more clones attacked Neji from each side. He grabbed the arm of the closest clone and spun around, destroying the all four. The water hung in the air for a moment.

You ran through it to attack Neji. He tried to attack the pressure point in your shoulder but you ducked down and swiped your leg. He jumped up to avoid your leg. You had him now. From your couching position, you propelled yourself upwards, upper jutting his jaw. But Neji tilted his head back too far. You just barely missed him. However, the price of this was brutal. Neji thrust his palm forward and struck you flat on the chest. You felt Neji's chakra course through you. The path it took left nothing but immense pain behind. Without really realizing it, you were on the ground, panting.

Neji flipped a stray lock of hair out of his face. "You lose."

You could barely catch your breath. You spent your remaining strength glaring up at his cocky face. Lee rushed to your side to examine strike.

"You should realize, Uzumaki Rukia. You are a failure. You will always be a failure. Just accept your mediocrity." Neji smirked cruelly at you. "At this rate, I'm more likely to become Kirakage than you are."

You tried to lunge at him again, only anger fueling you. Lee held you back. He told you to ignore Neji and focus more on your injury. You didn't care though. Neji had insulted your dream. He had to pay. But in the state you were in, there was no way you could take him on again. You would just have to wait.

Neji walked away, satisfied. He was doing you a favor, really. Failures with unrealistic dreams will only disappoint themselves. Everyone is bound by predetermined destiny. Maybe now you would realize that it is futile to fight against yours.

"You're lucky, Rukia." TenTen said, examining your chest. Lee had turned his head away, a deep red flushing his face. TenTen touched the area that Neji hit. "There's not much damage, it seems. You were mostly just winded. Neji took mercy on you."

"More like he underestimated me again." You growled.

TenTen sighed. "Either way, you're well enough to start our mission. It's time to go to the Hokage's office."

"Can I look now?" Lee asked, fidgeting in place.

"You didn't have to look away in the first place! She still had her clothes on!" TenTen was exasperated by you and Lee. All she wanted to do today was spend the few hours before the mission training with Neji. That was obviously dashed to bits. Now all she wanted was just to start the mission so she could stretch her legs outside Konoha's gates again.

"It would have still been indecent of me to look! Rukia-chan is a youthful female and I must never disrespect her that way!" Lee declared stubbornly. Even with his head turned, you and TenTen both knew that there was fire burning in his eyes. The bushy-browed ninja turned his head quickly to check if it was okay for him to relax. Sure enough, it was. He relaxed. "Now let us go!"

TenTen sighed again and took off immediately. Lee helped you to your feet and the two of you jumped through trees and over rooftops to start your very first mission.


End file.
